Kopchick elected president of Growth Hormone Research Society

(ATHENS, Ohio – Feb.  4, 2013) John Kopchick, Ph.D., Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of molecular biology at Ohio University, was elected president of the Growth Hormone Research Society (GRS). He is the first basic scientist to assume the role.

GRS is a forum for the study and exchange of ideas on all aspects of growth hormone physiology, and diseases involving abnormalities of the GH axis. As president, Dr. Kopchick will oversee the GRS biannual meeting, which brings together more than  400 clinicians, scientists and educators from 30 countries with their sister organization, the International Society for Insulin-Like Growth Factors (IGF) Society, to examine issues related to growth hormone action in humans and animals. Together, the two societies also publish The Journal of GH and IGF research.

“To be nominated and elected as president for a group of international clinicians and scientists all in the growth hormone area is certainly a wonderful and humbling honor,” said Dr. Kopchick. “I cannot explain how happy and excited I am about this new responsibility.”

The independent, non-profit society also sponsors regular workshops, in which participants issue a consensus report that is published in well-respected endocrine journals. Their next workshop, held in fall of 2013, will address the safety of recombinant human growth hormone therapy.

“This is currently a very ‘hot’ topic,” Dr. Kopchick said. “The participants in the workshop, all experts in the GH field, will go over the published data related to the topic and then generate a consensus statement that will be published.  In this case, clinicians will review the subject matter of the consensus report and may modify their interaction with their patients who are receiving GH therapy.”

Dr. Kopchick is known internationally for his 1989 discovery of a compound that became the basis for a drug, Somavert®, that treats acromegaly, a disorder that can cause excessive growth of organs and bones and can lead to premature death. The treatment has improved thousands of lives and has earned substantial royalties that support Ohio University research programs.

In addition, Dr. Kopchick has received numerous national and international awards, has published more than 290 scientific articles, and has been involved in three start-up companies. In January, 2012, OU-HCOM created an endowed research chair, the John J. Kopchick, Ph.D., Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Eminent Research Chair, to recognize the world-renowned endocrinologist and his contributions to the college, the university and the medical profession.

The Seventh International Congress of the GRS and IGF Society will be held from Oct. 15-18, 2014, in Singapore.