Gregory S. Kopf, Ph.D.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration
Executive Director, KUMC Research Institute
Professor
Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology

Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 1979
Postdoctoral, Vanderbilt University, 1979
Postdoctoral, University of California–San Diego, 1979-1982

gkopf@kumc.edu

My academic research interests have focused on invertebrate and mammalian fertilization, gametogenesis, and early events of egg activation.  Much of this work was carried out as a faculty member in the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  Prior to coming to KUMC, I was Assistant Vice President and Interim Vice President, Discovery at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.  In this capacity, I directed a drug discovery group responsible for the identification, validation and patenting of various targets for contraception and other disease areas in women's health (osteoporosis; reproductive disorders; urinary incontinence).  My group was also involved in HTS assay development, compound testing, and lead optimization and I was also involved in various in- and out-licensing activities for Wyeth.

Selected Publications

Pelletier JC, Chengalvala MV, Cottom JE, Feingold IB, Green DM, Hauze DB,Huselton CA, Jetter JW, Kopf GS, Lundquist JT, Magolda RL, Mann CW, Mehlmann JF, Rogers JF, Shanno LK, Adams WR, Tio CO, Wrobel JE. Discovery of 6-({4-[2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1H-benzimidazol-4-yl]piperazin-1-yl}methyl)quinoxaline (WAY-207024): an orally active antagonist of the gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRH-R). J Med Chem. 2009 Apr 9;52(7):2148-52.

Pelletier JC, Chengalvala M, Cottom J, Feingold I, Garrick L, Green D, Hauze D, Huselton C, Jetter J, Kao W, Kopf GS, Lundquist JT 4th, Mann C, Mehlmann J, Rogers J, Shanno L, Wrobel J. 2-phenyl-4-piperazinylbenzimidazoles: orally active inhibitors of the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor. Bioorg Med Chem. 2008 Jul 1;16(13):6617-40.

Johnston DS, Wright WW, Dicandeloro P, Wilson E, Kopf GS, Jelinsky SA.Stage-specific gene expression is a fundamental characteristic of rat spermatogenic cells and Sertoli cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jun 17;105(24):8315-20.

Nolan MA, Wu L, Bang HJ, Jelinsky SA, Roberts KP, Turner TT, Kopf GS, Johnston DS. Identification of rat cysteine-rich secretory protein 4 (Crisp4) as theortholog to human CRISP1 and mouse Crisp4. Biol Reprod. 2006 May;74(5):984-91.

Selvaraj V, Asano A, Buttke DE, McElwee JL, Nelson JL, Wolff CA, Merdiushev T, Fornés MW, Cohen AW, Lisanti MP, Rothblat GH, Kopf GS, Travis AJ. Segregation of micron-scale membrane sub-domains in live murine sperm. J Cell Physiol. 2006 Mar;206(3):636-46.

Johnston DS, Jelinsky SA, Bang HJ, DiCandeloro P, Wilson E, Kopf GS, Turner TT. The mouse epididymal transcriptome: transcriptional profiling of segmental gene expression in the epididymis. Biol Reprod. 2005 Sep;73(3):404-13.

Hess KC, Jones BH, Marquez B, Chen Y, Ord TS, Kamenetsky M, Miyamoto C, Zippin JH, Kopf GS, Suarez SS, Levin LR, Williams CJ, Buck J, Moss SB. The "soluble" adenylyl cyclase in sperm mediates multiple signaling events required for fertilization. Dev Cell. 2005 Aug;9(2):249-59.