Jonathan A. Kopechek, Ph.D.

Education:Jonathan A. Kopechek, Ph.D. 

B.S. Cum Laude with Honors & Distinction, Electrical & Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; 2006
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Ohio; 2011
Postdoctoral Fellow, Training in Nanotechnology for Cancer Program, College of Medicine and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA; 2011-2013
Postdoctoral Associate, Heart & Vascular Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; 2013-2014
Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Postdocoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; 2015-2016 

Curriculum Vitae 

Current Positions: 

Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville
Associate Appointment, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville
Member, James Graham Brown Cancer Center

Contact Information: 

Department of Bioengineering
Lutz Hall, Room 419
University of Louisville
2301 South Third Street
Louisville, KY 40292
Phone:  502/852-8205
Email:   

 

Website Link: 

Theranostic Ultrasound Laboratory

Research Description: 

Dr. Kopechek’s research interests focus on the development of image-guided molecular therapy platforms utilizing ultrasound-responsive drug and gene carriers for treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.  These include gas-filled microbubbles and liquid perfluorocarbon nanodroplets, which can be activated with focused ultrasound pulses to spatially and temporally control the delivery of therapeutic agents.  These formulations are in development for targeted delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids, such as miRNAs, or other therapeutic molecules in order to repair and regenerate injured cardiac muscle or suppress tumor growth.  The long-term goal is to develop targeted, non-invasive therapeutic delivery platforms with far-reaching clinical impact on the treatment of many diseases. 

Literature Cited: 

  1. Centner CS, Murphy EM, Stamp BF, Priddy MC, Moore JT, Bates PJ, Menze MA, Yaddanapudi K, Kopechek JA.  Assembly and operation of an acoustofluidic device for enhanced delivery of molecular compounds to cells.  Journal of Visualized Experiments 2021 Jan 21;(167).  doi: 10.3791/62035.  PMID: 33554963.
  2. Janis BR, Priddy MC, Otto MR, Kopechek JA, Menze MA.  Sonoporation enables high-throughput loading of trehalose into red blood cells.  Cryobiology 2021 Feb;98:73-79.  doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.12.005.  Epub 2020 Dec 24.  PMID: 33359645.
  3. Murphy EM, Centner CS, Bates PJ, Malik MT, Kopechek JA.  Delivery of thymoquinone to cancer cells with as1411-conjugated nanodroplets.  PLoSOne 2020 May 21;15(5):e0233466.  doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233466.  PMID: 32437399.  PMCID: PMC7241745.
  4. Centner CS, Murphy EM, Priddy MC, Moore JT, Janis BR, Menze MA, DeFilippis AP, Kopechek JA.  Ultrasound-induced molecular delivery to erythrocytes using a microfluidic system. Biomicrofluidics 2020 Apr 21;14(2):024114.  doi: 10.1063/1.5144617.  PMID: 32341725.  PMCID: PMC7176461.
  5. Bhutto DF, Murphy EM, Priddy MC, Centner CC, Moore Iv JB, Bolli R, Kopechek JA.  Effect of molecular weight on sonoporation-mediated uptake in human cells.  Ultrasoundin Medicine & Biology 2018 Dec;44(12):2662-2672.  doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.08.008.  Epub 2018 Sep 29.  PMID: 30274682.
  6. Kopechek JA, Carson AR, McTiernan CF, Chen X, Hasjim B, Lavery L, Sen M, Grandis JR, Villanueva FS.  Ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction-mediated delivery of a transcription factor decoy inhibits STAT3 signaling and tumor growth.  Theranostics 2015 Oct 16;5(12):1378-87.  doi: 10.7150/thno.12822.  PMID: 26681983.  PMCID: PMC4672019.
  7. Duncanson WJ, Arriaga LR, Ung WL, Kopechek JA, Porter TM, Weitz DA.  Microfluidic fabrication of perfluorohexane-shelled double emulsions for controlled loading and acoustic-triggered release of hydrophilic agents.  Langmuir 2014 Nov 25;30(46):13765-70.  doi: 10.1021/la502473w.  Epub 2014 Nov 11.  PMID: 25340527.
  8. Kopechek JA, Park EJ, Zhang YZ, Vykhodtseva NI, McDannold NJ, Porter TM.  Cavitation-enhanced MR-guided focused ultrasound ablation of rabbit tumors in vivo using phase shift nanoemulsions.  Physics in Medicine & Biology 2014 Jul 7;59(13):3465-81.  doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/59/13/3465.  Epub 2014 Jun 5.  PMID: 24899634.  PMCID: PMC4119424.
  9. Yohe ST, Kopechek JA, Porter TM, Colson YL, Grinstaff MW.  Triggered drug release from superhydrophobic meshes using high-intensity focused ultrasound.  Advanced Healthcare Materials 2013 Sep;2(9):1204-8.  doi: 10.1002/adhm.201200381.  Epub 2013 Apr 17.  PMID: 235926.  PMCID: PMC3923359.
  10. Kopechek JA, Park E, Mei CS, McDannold NJ, Porter TM.  Accumulation of phase-shift nanoemulsions to enhance MR-guided ultrasound-mediated tumor ablation in vivo.  Journal of Healthcare Engineering 2013;4(1):109-26.  doi: 10.1260/2040-2295.4.1.109.  PMID: 23502252.  PMCID: PMC3912248.
  11. Kopechek JA, Haworth KJ, Radhakrishnan K, Huang SL, Klegerman ME, McPherson DD, Holland CK.  The impact of bubbles on measurement of drug release from echogenic liposomes.  UltrasonicsSonochemistry 2013 Jul;20(4):1121-30.  doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2012.12.005.  Epub 2012 Dec 29.  PMID: 23357288.  PMCID: PMC3632413.
  12. Kopechek JA, Zhang P, Burgess MT, Porter TM.  Synthesis of phase-shift nanoemulsions with narrow size distributions for acoustic droplet vaporization and bubble-enhanced ultrasound-mediated ablation.  Journal of Visualized Experiments 2012 Sep 13;(67):e4308.  doi: 10.3791/4308.  PMID: 23007836;.  PMCID: PMC3490276.
  13. Kopechek JA, Haworth KJ, Raymond JL, Douglas Mast T, Perrin SR, Klegerman ME, Huang S, Porter TM, McPherson DD, Holland CK.  Acoustic characterization of echogenic liposomes: frequency-dependent attenuation and backscatter.  Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2011 Nov;130(5):3472-81.  doi: 10.1121/1.3626124.  PMID: 22088022.  PMCID: PMC3248067.
  14. Laing ST, Kim H, Kopechek JA, Parikh D, Huang S, Klegerman ME, Holland CK, McPherson DD.  Ultrasound-mediated delivery of echogenic immunoliposomes to porcine vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo.  Journal of Liposome Research 2010 Jun;20(2):160-7.  doi: 10.3109/08982100903218918.  PMID: 19842795.  PMCID: PMC2860008.
  15. Herbst SM, Klegerman ME, Kim H, Qi J, Shelat H, Wassler M, Moody MR, Yang CM, Ge X, Zou Y, Kopechek JA, Clubb FJ, Kraemer DC, Huang S, Holland CK, McPherson DD, Geng YJ.  Delivery of stem cells to porcine arterial wall with echogenic liposomes conjugated to antibodies against CD34 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1.  Molecular Pharmacology 2010 Feb 1;7(1):3-11.  doi: 10.1021/mp900116r.  PMID: 19719324.  PMCID: PMC2815248.
  16. Kopechek JA, Abruzzo TM, Wang B, Chrzanowski SM, Smith DA, Kee PH, Huang S, Collier JH, McPherson DD, Holland CK.  Ultrasound-mediated release of hydrophilic and lipophilic agents from echogenic liposomes.  Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 2008 Nov;27(11):1597-606.  doi: 10.7863/jum.2008.27.11.1597.  PMID: 18946099.  PMCID: PMC2860106.