Name: Jindrich Kopecek
Affiliated Society: Society for Biomaterials
Country of Residence: USA
Current Position: Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Biography:
Professor Kopecek received his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Chemistry from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (IMC) 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 1988, he served as Principal Investigator and Laboratory Head at the IMC. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Utah.
Kopecek served as President of the Controlled Release Society (1995-1996), Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (1999-2004), and Chair of the Biomaterials and Interfaces Study Section at the National Institutes of Health (2003-2006). He serves on Editorial Boards of 14 international scientific journals. His awards include the Clemson Award for Basic Research of the Society of Biomaterials, Founders Award of the Controlled Release Society, Honorary Member of the Czech Learned Society, Millennial Pharmaceutical Scientist Award, Distinguished International Scientist Award of the Japanese Biomaterials Society, Lifetime Achievemnet Award from the Journal of Drug Targeting, Honorary Professorship, Sichuan University, China, and Honorary Doctorate from the University of Helsinki. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering. Kopecek’s research interests are focused on biorecognition of macromolecules, bioconjugate chemistry, drug delivery systems, and self-assembled biomaterials. Hydrogels from his laboratory have been in clinical use and HPMA copolymer – anticancer drug conjugates in clinical trials. Kopecek’s Hirsch index is 85; his publications have been cited over 24,600 times (Google Scholar 09142016).
Areas of research interest:
Biorecognition of Macromolecules; Bioconjugate Chemistry; Drug Delivery Systems; Self-Assembly of Macromolecules.
Research keywords:
Chemical Engineering