JINDRICH Henry KOPECEK portrait
  • Distinguished Professor, Molecular Pharmaceutics
  • Distinguished Professor, Biomedical Engineering
  • Honorary Professor, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

Education

  • M.S., 1961, Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czechoslovakia
  • Ph.D., 1965, Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
  • D.Sc., 1990, Chemistry, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechoslovakia
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, 1968, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa

Research Summary

Go to: http://pharmacy.utah.edu/pharmaceutics/groups/kopecek/site/research/index.html

Biography

Jindřich Henry Kopeček, received his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Chemistry from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and D.Sc. in Chemistry from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic. His postdoctoral studies were done at the National Research Council of Canada. Before joining the University of Utah in 1986 Kopeček served as Principal Investigator and Laboratory Head in the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Utah.  He served as President of the Controlled Release Society (1995-1996), Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (1999-2004), Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Drug Carriers in Medicine and Biology (2004), and Chair of the Biomaterials and Interfaces Study Section at the National Institutes of Health (2003-2006).  Prof. Kopeček serves on Editorial Boards of 14 international scientific journals. His awards include the Founders Award of the Controlled Release Society (1999), Millennial Pharmaceutical Scientist Award (2000), Paul Dawson Biotechnology Award (2001), Distinguished International Scientist Award of the Japanese Biomaterials Society (2006), Honorary Professorship, Sichuan University, China (2007), Lifetime Achievement Award from the Journal of Drug Targeting (2011), Doctor of Philosophy Honoris Causa degree from the University of Helsinki, Finland (2014), and T. & A. Higuchi Memorial Lectureship Award, Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Japan (2018). Kopeček is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering (2011). His research interests are focused on biorecognition of macromolecules, bioconjugate chemistry, drug delivery systems, self-assembled biomaterials, and drug-free macromolecular therapeutics. Hydrogels from his laboratory have been in clinical use and HPMA copolymer - anticancer drug conjugates in clinical trials.  Kopeček is a coauthor of more than 430 scientific papers; his Hirsch index is 91 and his publications have been cited 28,651 times (Google Scholar 04/29/2018).

Research Interests

Biorecognition of Macromolecules; Bioconjugate Chemistry; Self-Assembly of Macromolecules; Drug Delivery Systems. Current projects in the laboratory: \

  • Backbone degradable polymer-anticancer drug conjugates
  • Combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy with polymer nanomedicines
  • Transport of macromolecules across the blood-brain barrier
  • Crosslinking-mediated endocytosis
  • Drug-free macromolecular therapeutics – a novel paradigm in macromolecular therapeutics where apoptosis is induced following biorecognition events at cell surface without the need for low molecular weight drugs

Selected Works

  • J. Kopecek, Biorecognition – a Bridge from Smart Biomaterials to Drug-free Macromolecular Therapeutics, Topics in Bioengineering Seminar Series, Harvard University, Boston, MA . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/03/2018.
  • J. Kopecek, Polymer-Drug Conjugates for Cancer Treatment: Design, Development, and Future Potential, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, AZ. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/02/2018.
  • J. Kopeček, Polymer Therapeutics for Cancer Treatment, Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/07/2017.
  • J. Kopecek, Crosslinking of Cell Receptors Triggers Apoptosis. 5th International Symposium on Smart Biomaterials, University of Shanghai, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/18/2017.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Design of Smart Polymeric Nanomedicines,China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/26/2017.
  • J. Kopeček, J, Yang, Design of Smart Polymeric Nanomedicines, 3rd Symposium on Nanomedicine & MRI Applications, West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/23/2017.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Drug-Free Macrmolecular Therapeutics: A New Paradigm in Nanomedicine, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/18/2017.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Design of Smart Polymeric Nanomedicines. College of Pharmacy, Setsunam University, Osaka, Japan. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/2016.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Y. Fang, L. Zhang, J. Wang, L. Li, Crosslinking of Cell Surface Receptors Triggers Apoptosis. 3rd International Coference on Biomaterials Science (ICBS2016), Tokyo, Japan, November 28-30, 2016. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2016.
  • J. Yang, L. Zhang, Y. Fang, J. Kopeček, A New Construction of Antibody-Epirubicin Conjugate. 3rd International Conference on Biomaterials Science (ICBS2016), Tokyo, Japan, November 28-30, 2016. Presented by Dr. J. Yang. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2016.
  • J. Yang, L. Zhang, Y. Fang, J. Kopeček, When HPMA-Based Polymer Meets Antibody-Drug Conjugates. International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials. Santa Rosa, CA, October 23-25, 2016. Presented by Dr. J. Yang. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2016.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Design of Smart Polymeric Nanomedicines. 14th Annual Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium, NanoDDS’16, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, September 16-18, 2016. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/2016.
  • J. Yang, T.-W. Chu, J.M. Hartley, R. Zhang, J. Kopeček, Drug-Free Macromolecular Therapeutics – A New Paradigm in Nanomedicines. 10th World Biomaterials Congress, Montreal, Canada, May 17-22, 2016. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2016.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Self-Assembly of Nanoconjugates at the Cell Surface Triggers Apoptosis. 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, California, March 13-17, 2016. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2016.
  • J. Kopeček, T.-W. Chu, J. Yang, R. Zhang, J.M. Hartley, Drug-Free Macromolecular Therapeutics – A New Paradigm in Polymeric Nanomedicines. Pacifichem 2015, Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15-20, 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/17/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, Polymeric Biomaterials and Nanomedicines. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University. Symposium in honor of Prof. K. Leong's 60th Birthday. November 6, 2015, New York, NY. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/06/2015.
  • J. Yang, R. Zhang, D.C. Radford, J. Kopeček, FRET-Trackable Biodegradable HPMA Copolymer-Epirubicin Conjugates for Ovarian Carcinoma Therapy. 11th International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials, Santa Rosa, California, October 25-27, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/27/2015.
  • D.C. Radford, J. Yang, R. Zhang, J. Kopeček, A FRET-Based Imaging Strategy to Rapidly Quantify Biodegradation of Degradable Nanomedicines. Conference NanoUtah2015, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 13, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/13/2015.
  • D.C. Radford, J. Yang, R. Zhang, J. Kopeček, A FRET-Based Imaging Strategy to Rapidly Quantify Biodegradation of Degradable Nanomedicines. Biomedical Engineering Society 2015 Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, October 7-10, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/09/2015.
  • J.M. Hartley, TW. Chu, E. Peterson, R. Zhang, J. Yang, J. Harris, J. Kopeček Characterizing the Effects of Hybrid Nanoconjugates on Lymphoma Plasma Membranes Using dSTORM and Pair-Correlation Analysis. 13th International Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium, Seattle, WA, September 16-18, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 09/17/2015.
  • Z.-H. Peng, J. Li, Y. Xie, Y. Wang, F. Yu, Y. Chen, J.E. Talmadge, J. Kopeček, D. Oupický, MMP-2-Repsonsive Polymeric CXCR4 Antagonist for Inhibiting Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis. 13th International Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium, Seattle, WA, September 16-18, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 09/17/2015.
  • J. Yang, R.Zhang, D.C. Radford, J. Kopeček, FRET-Trackable Biodegradable HPMA Copolymer-Epirubicin Conjugates for Ovarian Carcinoma Therapy – In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015 . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • R. Zhang, J. Yang, M. Sima, T.-W. Chu, J.M. Hartley, J. Kopeček, Multimodality Imaging of Coiled-Coil Mediated Self-Assembly in a Drug-Free Therapeutic System. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • J.M. Hartley, TW. Chu, E. Peterson, R. Zhang, J. Harris, J. Yang J. Kopeček, Quantitative Analysis of Lymphoma Membrane Organization after Self-Assembly of Hybrid Nanoconjugates on the Cell Surface. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • D.C. Radford, J. Yang, R. Zhang, J. Kopeček, A FRET-Based Strategy to Monitor and Quantitate Biodegradation of Backbone Degradable HPMA Copolymers. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • T.-W. Chu, R. Zhang, J. Yang, M.P. Chao, P.J. Shami, J. Kopeček, A Two-Step Pretargeted Nanotherapy for CD20 Crosslinking May Achieve Superior Anti-Lymphoma Efficacy to Rituximab. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015 . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • L. Zhang, R. Zhang, J. Yang, J. Kopeček, Dual-Radioisotope HPMA Copolymer-Drug Conjugate for In Vivo Imaging Studies. 17th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 14-17, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/15/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, Frontiers in Biomedical Materials. Invited seminar: Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Polymeric Biomaterials and Nanomedicines. 11th International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials, Santa Rosa, California, October 25-27, 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/25/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, T.-W. Chu, J. Yang, R. Zhang, J. Hartley, Self-Assembly of Nanoconjugates at Cell Surface Triggers Cancer Cell Apoptosis. 3rd Nanomedicine for Imaging and Treatment Conference, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, March 13-14, 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/13/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Recent Advances in Polymeric Nanomedicines. International Symposium on Translational Nanomedicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, January 8-10, 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/08/2015.
  • J. Kopeček, T.-W. Chu, J. Yang, R. Zhang, P. Shami, Self-Assembly of Nanoconjugates at Cell Surface Induces Apoptosis. 10th International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials, Santa Rosa, California, October 26-28, 2014. Opening lecture. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/26/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Rational Design of Macromolecular Therapeutics, Department of Polymer Science, Peking University, Beijing, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/23/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Rational Design of Macromolecular Therapeutics. Chinese Pharmaceutics Conference, Changsha, Hunan Province, China, September 19-22, 2014. Plenary lecture. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/20/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, T.-W. Chu, R. Zhang, J. Yang, P. Shami, J.M. Hartley, Self-Assembly of Nanoconjugates Triggers Cancer Cell Suicide. 3rd Symposium on Innovative Polymers for Controlled Delivery (SIPCD 2014), Suzhou, China, September 16-19, 2014. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/16/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Rational Design of Macromolecular Therapeutics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/15/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, Frontiers of Biomedical Materials, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/30/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, Hydrogels: From Soft Contact Lenses and Implants to Self-Assembled Nanomaterials. 247th American Chemical Society Meeting, Dallas, Texas, March 16-20, 2014 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/17/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, Frontiers of Biomedical Materials, University of Miami, College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series, March 3, 2014. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/03/2014.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Biodegradable HPMA Copolymers for Systemic Drug Delivery. Third Sino-German Symposium “Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications”, Hangzhou, China, October 28-31, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/29/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, Contribution of O. Wichterle to the Global Polymer Science in General and to Biomedical Polymers in Particular (in Czech). Meeting to Celebrate 100th Annversary of Professor Wichterle’s Birth, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, October 24, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/24/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Rational Design and Synthesis of Macromolecular Therapeutics. ACS Workshop “Polymers in Medicine and Biology”, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Valley, California, October 9-12, 2013. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/10/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Rational Design of Macromolecular Therapeutics. 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 8-12, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/10/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Biorecognition Motifs in the Design of Self-Assembling Biomaterials and Nanomedicines, 15th IUPAC International Symposium Macromolecular Complexes (MMC-15) Hyatt Regency Greenville, South Carolina, August 13-16, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/14/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, Frontiers of Biomedical Materials, XIX. General Meeting of the Learned Society (Academy) of the Czech Republic, Prague, Carolinum, May 20, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/20/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Design and Biorecognition of Water-Soluble Macromolecular Therapeutics, Joint Symposium of the 5th Utah-Inha DDS & Advanced Therapeutic Research Center Symposium and the 7th International Symposium on Intelligent DDS, Sheraton Incheon Hotel, Incheon, Korea, May 23-24, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/24/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, J. Yang, Smart Biomaterials and Macromolecular Therapeutics, 2nd International Conference on Biomaterial Science (ICBS2013), Tsukuba, Japan, March 20-22, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/20/2013.
  • J. Kopeček, Design and Biorecognition of Water-Soluble Macromolecular Therapeutics, 2nd Nanomedicine for Imaging and Treatment Conference, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, March 15-16, 2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/15/2013.