Governor lists university among centers of excellence for health and wellness

Feb. 19, 2010

Research, education, service, and economic benefits from a wide array of faculty and staff have earned Ohio University recognition from Gov. Ted Strickland as a Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness.

The biomedical engineering community at the university played a key role in the Center of Excellence designation.

For instance, BME faculty members Leonard Kohn (College of Osteopathic Medicine), Doug Goetz (Russ College), Kelly McCall (COM), Frank Schwartz (COM), Ramiro Malgor (COM), and Steve Bergmeier and Mark McMills (both of the College of Arts and Sciences) teamed up to secure a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for development of a therapeutic for endocrine disease and cancer.

Kohn, Emeritus Distinguished Senior Research Scientist at the Edison Biotechnology Institute, has been a driving force in a recently approved diagnostic assay marketed by Diagnostic Hybrids. 

A discovery by BME faculty member John Kopchick (COM), Goll Ohio Eminent Scholar, led to the development of Somavert, which is used for the treatment of acromegaly, a growth hormone disorder.