Benjamin Kopecky, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Medicine-Cardiology

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Medical School
  • MD, University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine (2013)
Graduate School
  • PhD, University of Iowa (2013)
Undergraduate School
  • BS, Creighton University (NE) (2007)
Internship
  • Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children's Hospital (2014)
Residency
  • Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children's Hospital, Internal Medicine (2015)
Fellowships
  • Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children's Hospital, Cardiology (2017)
  • Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children's Hospital, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology (2018)
Languages
English
Department
Medicine-Cardiology

Professional Titles

  • Assistant Professor

Recognitions

  • Ludeman Center Scientist, Ludeman Family Center for Women's Health Research (2024)
  • Boettcher Investigator, Boettcher Foundation (2024)

Publications

  • Guo Z, Ataran A, Ma P, Yu W, Hajirezaei H, Valenzuela Ripoll C, Pedersen LN, Rashidi O, Chan MM, Shen M, Kelley S, Sargazi A, Ozcan M, Lotfinaghsh A, Cho Y, Diab A, Grogan F, Klaas A, Pompian A, Imam A, Lodhi R, Zelleke AB, Kovacs A, Margulies KB, Szymanski J, Sardiello M, Razani B, Asnani A, Kopecky BJ, Signore PE, Yi BA, Basson CT, Ravichandran KS, Prabhu SD, Bergom C, Schilling JD, Lavine KJ, Javaheri A. Human Single-Nucleus RNA Sequencing Identifies CD47 as a Therapeutic Target for Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2025 Sep 9;152(10):661-681. PubMed PMID: 40808662
  • Peña B, Kopecky BJ. Direct application of a drug delivery platform improves heart transplantation: On the path from innovation to implementation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2025 Oct;44(10):1635-1637. PubMed PMID: 40578715
  • Gu S, Kopecky BJ, Peña B, Vagnozzi RJ, Lahm T. Sex-dependent Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Considerations in Right Heart Disease. Can J Cardiol. 2025 Jun;41(6):1038-1053. PubMed PMID: 40054579
  • Ambardekar AV, Kopecky BJ. Inflammation in Cardiogenic Liver Disease: The Guilty Perpetrator or an Innocent Bystander to Congestion?. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2025 Apr;10(4):455-457. PubMed PMID: 40306853
  • Van Ochten N, Leyba K, Kopecky BJ, Suckow E, Nathe K, Laing S, Lawley JS, Simpson L, Levine BD, Forbes LM, Cornwell Iii WK. The Impact of Moderate Altitude on Manifestations of Coronary Artery Disease. Gerontology. 2025;71(6):461-473. PubMed PMID: 40359929
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=benjamin+kopecky&sort=date
  • Ambardekar AV, Kopecky BJ, Raymer DS. Finding an Unobstructed View Toward the Treatment of Nonobstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Lifting the Hunger Fog. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024 May 28;83(21):2049-2051. PubMed PMID: 38777508
  • Kopecky BJ, Lavine KJ. Cardiac macrophage metabolism in health and disease. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Mar;35(3):249-262. PubMed PMID: 37993313
  • Amrute JM, Luo X, Penna V, Yang S, Yamawaki T, Hayat S, Bredemeyer A, Jung IH, Kadyrov FF, Heo GS, Venkatesan R, Shi SY, Parvathaneni A, Koenig AL, Kuppe C, Baker C, Luehmann H, Jones C, Kopecky B, Zeng X, Bleckwehl T, Ma P, Lee P, Terada Y, Fu A, Furtado M, Kreisel D, Kovacs A, Stitziel NO, Jackson S, Li CM, Liu Y, Rosenthal NA, Kramann R, Ason B, Lavine KJ. Targeting immune-fibroblast cell communication in heart failure. Nature. 2024 Nov;635(8038):423-433. PubMed PMID: 39443792
  • Kadyrov FF, Koenig AL, Amrute JM, Dun H, Li W, Weinheimer CJ, Nigro JM, Kovacs A, Bredemeyer AL, Yang S, Das S, Penna VR, Parvathaneni A, Lai L, Hartmann N, Kopecky BJ, Kreisel D, Lavine KJ. Hypoxia sensing in resident cardiac macrophages regulates monocyte fate specification following ischemic heart injury. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2024 Nov;3(11):1337-1355. PubMed PMID: 39433910
  • Ambardekar AV, Kopecky BJ, Raymer DS. Finding an Unobstructed View Toward the Treatment of Nonobstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Lifting the Hunger Fog. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024 May 28;83(21):2049-2051. PubMed PMID: 38777508
  • Ambardekar AV, Kopecky BJ. The Farm to Table HFpEF Kitchen: Selecting the Right Ingredients for the Discerning Palate. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2024 Mar;9(3):300-302. PubMed PMID: 38559628
  • Zhang X, Heo GS, Li A, Lahad D, Detering L, Tao J, Gao X, Zhang X, Luehmann H, Sultan D, Lou L, Venkatesan R, Li R, Zheng J, Amrute J, Lin CY, Kopecky BJ, Gropler RJ, Bredemeyer A, Lavine K, Liu Y. Development of a CD163-Targeted PET Radiotracer That Images Resident Macrophages in Atherosclerosis. J Nucl Med. 2024 May 1;65(5):775-780. PubMed PMID: 38548349
  • Owen MC, Kopecky BJ. Targeting Macrophages in Organ Transplantation: A Step Toward Personalized Medicine. Transplantation. 2024 Oct 1;108(10):2045-2056. PubMed PMID: 38467591
  • Kopecky BJ, Lavine KJ. Cardiac macrophage metabolism in health and disease. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Mar;35(3):249-262. PubMed PMID: 37993313
  • The Washington Manual of Heart Failure, first edition
  • Cervical heterotopic heart transplantation in mice using a novel suture technique Dun, Hao et al. JHLT Open, Volume 7, 100164
  • Bai YZ, Kopecky BJ, Lavine KJ, Kreisel D. Ferroptosis in the post-transplantation inflammatory response. Cell Immunol. 2023 Nov-Dec;393-394:104774. PubMed PMID: 37839157
  • Tadepalli S, Clements DR, Saravanan S, Arroyo Hornero R, Lüdtke A, Blackmore B, Paulo JA, Gottfried-Blackmore A, Seong D, Park S, Chan L, Kopecky BJ, Liu Z, Ginhoux F, Lavine KJ, Murphy JP, Mack M, Graves EE, Idoyaga J. Rapid recruitment and IFN-I-mediated activation of monocytes dictate focal radiotherapy efficacy. Sci Immunol. 2023 Jun 2;8(84):eadd7446. PubMed PMID: 37294749
  • Amrute JM, Lai L, Ma P, Koenig AL, Kamimoto K, Bredemeyer A, Shankar TS, Kuppe C, Kadyrov FF, Schulte LJ, Stoutenburg D, Kopecky BJ, Navankasattusas S, Visker J, Morris SA, Kramann R, Leuschner F, Mann DL, Drakos SG, Lavine KJ. Defining cardiac functional recovery in end-stage heart failure at single-cell resolution. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023 Apr;2(4):399-416. PubMed PMID: 37583573
  • Borcherding N, Jia W, Giwa R, Field RL, Moley JR, Kopecky BJ, Chan MM, Yang BQ, Sabio JM, Walker EC, Osorio O, Bredemeyer AL, Pietka T, Alexander-Brett J, Morley SC, Artyomov MN, Abumrad NA, Schilling J, Lavine K, Crewe C, Brestoff JR. Dietary lipids inhibit mitochondria transfer to macrophages to divert adipocyte-derived mitochondria into the blood. Cell Metab. 2022 Oct 4;34(10):1499-1513.e8. PubMed PMID: 36070756
  • Moreno JD, Verma AK, Kopecky BJ, Dehner C, Kostelecky N, Vader JM, Lin CY, Schilling JD. Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibody-mediated Rejection Following Orthotopic Heart Transplant: A Single-center Experience. Transplantation. 2022 Feb 1;106(2):373-380. PubMed PMID: 33988339
  • Kopecky BJ, Dun H, Amrute JM, Lin CY, Bredemeyer AL, Terada Y, Bayguinov PO, Koenig AL, Frye CC, Fitzpatrick JAJ, Kreisel D, Lavine KJ. Donor Macrophages Modulate Rejection After Heart Transplantation. Circulation. 2022 Aug 23;146(8):623-638. PubMed PMID: 35880523
  • Wong NR, Mohan J, Kopecky BJ, Guo S, Du L, Leid J, Feng G, Lokshina I, Dmytrenko O, Luehmann H, Bajpai G, Ewald L, Bell L, Patel N, Bredemeyer A, Weinheimer CJ, Nigro JM, Kovacs A, Morimoto S, Bayguinov PO, Fisher MR, Stump WT, Greenberg M, Fitzpatrick JAJ, Epelman S, Kreisel D, Sah R, Liu Y, Hu H, Lavine KJ. Resident cardiac macrophages mediate adaptive myocardial remodeling. Immunity. 2021 Sep 14;54(9):2072-2088.e7. PubMed PMID: 34320366
  • Kopecky BJ, Frye C, Terada Y, Balsara KR, Kreisel D, Lavine KJ. Role of donor macrophages after heart and lung transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2020 May;20(5):1225-1235. PubMed PMID: 31850651
  • Nichols DH, Bouma JE, Kopecky BJ, Jahan I, Beisel KW, He DZZ, Liu H, Fritzsch B. Interaction with ectopic cochlear crista sensory epithelium disrupts basal cochlear sensory epithelium development in Lmx1a mutant mice. Cell Tissue Res. 2020 Jun;380(3):435-448. PubMed PMID: 31932950
  • Heo GS, Kopecky B, Sultan D, Ou M, Feng G, Bajpai G, Zhang X, Luehmann H, Detering L, Su Y, Leuschner F, Combadière C, Kreisel D, Gropler RJ, Brody SL, Liu Y, Lavine KJ. Molecular Imaging Visualizes Recruitment of Inflammatory Monocytes and Macrophages to the Injured Heart. Circ Res. 2019 Mar 15;124(6):881-890. PubMed PMID: 30661445
  • Lavine KJ, Pinto AR, Epelman S, Kopecky BJ, Clemente-Casares X, Godwin J, Rosenthal N, Kovacic JC. The Macrophage in Cardiac Homeostasis and Disease: JACC Macrophage in CVD Series (Part 4). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Oct 30;72(18):2213-2230. PubMed PMID: 30360829
  • Tang J, Qian Y, Li H, Kopecky BJ, Ding D, Ou HC, DeCook R, Chen X, Sun Z, Kobel M, Bao J. Canertinib induces ototoxicity in three preclinical models. Hear Res. 2015 Oct;328:59-66. PubMed PMID: 26163095
  • Kopecky BJ, Liang R, Bao J. T-type calcium channel blockers as neuroprotective agents. Pflugers Arch. 2014 Apr;466(4):757-65. PubMed PMID: 24563219
  • Fritzsch B, Pan N, Jahan I, Duncan JS, Kopecky BJ, Elliott KL, Kersigo J, Yang T. Evolution and development of the tetrapod auditory system: an organ of Corti-centric perspective. Evol Dev. 2013 Jan;15(1):63-79. PubMed PMID: 23331918
  • Kopecky BJ, Jahan I, Fritzsch B. Correct timing of proliferation and differentiation is necessary for normal inner ear development and auditory hair cell viability. Dev Dyn. 2013 Feb;242(2):132-47. PubMed PMID: 23193000
  • Kopecky BJ, Decook R, Fritzsch B. N-Myc and L-Myc are essential for hair cell formation but not maintenance. Brain Res. 2012 Nov 12;1484:1-14. PubMed PMID: 23022312
  • Kopecky B, Johnson S, Schmitz H, Santi P, Fritzsch B. Scanning thin-sheet laser imaging microscopy elucidates details on mouse ear development. Dev Dyn. 2012 Mar;241(3):465-80. PubMed PMID: 22271591
  • Kopecky BJ, Duncan JS, Elliott KL, Fritzsch B. Three-dimensional reconstructions from optical sections of thick mouse inner ears using confocal microscopy. J Microsc. 2012 Dec;248(3):292-8. PubMed PMID: 23140378
  • Pan N, Kopecky B, Jahan I, Fritzsch B. Understanding the evolution and development of neurosensory transcription factors of the ear to enhance therapeutic translation. Cell Tissue Res. 2012 Aug;349(2):415-32. PubMed PMID: 22688958
  • Kopecky B, Decook R, Fritzsch B. Mutational ataxia resulting from abnormal vestibular acquisition and processing is partially compensated for. Behav Neurosci. 2012 Apr;126(2):301-13. PubMed PMID: 22309445
  • Jahan I, Pan N, Kersigo J, Calisto LE, Morris KA, Kopecky B, Duncan JS, Beisel KW, Fritzsch B. Expression of Neurog1 instead of Atoh1 can partially rescue organ of Corti cell survival. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30853. PubMed PMID: 22292060
  • Pan N, Jahan I, Kersigo J, Duncan JS, Kopecky B, Fritzsch B. A novel Atoh1 "self-terminating" mouse model reveals the necessity of proper Atoh1 level and duration for hair cell differentiation and viability. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30358. PubMed PMID: 22279587
  • Pan N, Jahan I, Kersigo J, Kopecky B, Santi P, Johnson S, Schmitz H, Fritzsch B. Conditional deletion of Atoh1 using Pax2-Cre results in viable mice without differentiated cochlear hair cells that have lost most of the organ of Corti. Hear Res. 2011 May;275(1-2):66-80. PubMed PMID: 21146598
  • Kopecky B, Fritzsch B. Regeneration of Hair Cells: Making Sense of All the Noise. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2011 Jun 1;4(6):848-879. PubMed PMID: 21966254
  • Kopecky B, Santi P, Johnson S, Schmitz H, Fritzsch B. Conditional deletion of N-Myc disrupts neurosensory and non-sensory development of the ear. Dev Dyn. 2011 Jun;240(6):1373-90. PubMed PMID: 21448975
  • Fritzsch B, Jahan I, Pan N, Kersigo J, Duncan J, Kopecky B. Dissecting the molecular basis of organ of Corti development: Where are we now?. Hear Res. 2011 Jun;276(1-2):16-26. PubMed PMID: 21256948
  • Pauley S, Kopecky B, Beisel K, Soukup G, Fritzsch B. Stem cells and molecular strategies to restore hearing. Panminerva Med. 2008 Mar;50(1):41-53. PubMed PMID: 18427387
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Professional Memberships

  • ISHLT, Member
  • AHA, Member
  • AST, Member

Practice Locations

UCHealth Heart Failure Program - Anschutz
12505 E. 16th Ave
Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion 2, 3rd floor
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-5300

Hospital Affiliation
  • University of Colorado Hospital

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
  • Internal Medicine
Clinical Interests
Heart Failure, Cardiac Transplantation, Mechanical Circulatory Support / Ventricular Assist Devices

Care Philosophy
I believe each patient should be considered holistically. I strive to offer evidence-based therapies and ensure that treatment decisions are patient centered.

Personal Interests
I enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, biking, and running.

Public Speaking
Yes


School of Medicine

CU Anschutz

Fitzsimons Building

13001 East 17th Place

Campus Box C290

Aurora, CO 80045

303.724.5375

School
General
Students