Professor John Kopchick is a new honorary doctor at Health, Aarhus University.

2015.09.08 | Malene Løvig Nielsen

John Kopchick has published almost 300 peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognised journals such as e.g. PNAS and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

John Kopchcick is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of growth hormones and associated growth factors. He has spent many years working closely with researchers from Aarhus University, which has led to a number of joint publications and patents, as well as the exchange of researchers between the two laboratories. According to Allan Flyvbjerg, dean at Aarhus University, Health, the collaboration between the new honorary doctor and researchers from Aarhus University has been highly valuable:

"John Kopchick’s research into growth hormones is new and innovative. There is no doubt that we are talking about a world-class researcher. There has been a long-standing and fruitful collaboration between the professor and the faculty, and I myself had the opportunity to visit John Kopchick’s research laboratory a number of years ago. I personally saw a melting pot of researchers from all over the world and how they – under John Kopchick’s expert leadership management – produced research of high international standard".

John Kopchick is professor at the Department of Biomedical Science at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. His field of research is growth hormones and in 1989 he was the first person to develop a specific growth hormone antagonist to block the hormone. This has since been developed into a medication against the disease acromegaly, which is a growth disorder that leads to increased growth of fingers, feet and the lower jaw.

John Kopchick has published almost 300 peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognised journals such as e.g. PNAS and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He is a highly cited researcher within his field and holds 35 patents. In 2012, Kopchick was appointed distinguished professor at Ohio University, and he is also a former president of the Growth Hormone Research Society, an international body with over 400 members from over 30 countries, including clinical practitioners, researchers, lecturers and students. Researchers from Aarhus University originally established the society.

John Kopchick graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas. Since 2004 he has taught at more than 14 postgraduate courses in Denmark, which have been arranged in cooperation with Health, Aarhus University.

Further information

Professor John Kopchick
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
kopchick@ohio.edu