Dr. Copur, is currently employed by Mary Lanning Healthcare and serves as the medical director of Oncology at Morrison Cancer Center in Grand Island, Nebraska. He has been serving as Professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center Hematology Oncology, Adjunct faculty since 2012.  Dr. Copur received his medical degree from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Turkey. He completed his internal medicine residency program at the Chicago Medical School in 1992.  He continued his training at the  prestigious fellowship program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Bethesda Maryland. While at the NCI he conducted basic science and translational research as well as clinical oncology patient care. Following his fellowship, Dr. Copur came to Grand Island and built a comprehensive community-based oncology practice in Grand Island, Nebraska and served as the medical director of oncology at CHI Health St Francis Cancer Treatment Center.

In order to meet the needs of his rural community patients and to fulfill his passion to advance our understanding of cancer, Dr. Copur pursued collaborations first with the University of Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group and through this academic affiliation established a membership with the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB). These efforts later on lead to an affiliation with the Eppley Cancer Institute, followed by an affiliation with Buffet Cancer Center in Omaha, Nebraska, one of the NCI-designated cancer centers in the United States. This dramatically expanded Dr. Copur’s ability to engage in community-based cancer research to the benefit of the patients in his community. Dr. Copur has been honored on multiple occasions by national organizations for his work in community cancer research including The American Cancer Society Health Care Excellence Award in 2013 as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Trial Participation Award in 2010 and 2016 and American Society of Clinical Oncology Community Oncology Research Grant in 2010, NCORP NCI Gold and Silver medals for research excellence and Participation. His accomplishments in rural community cancer clinical trials have been the topic of a Scientific American article in January 2019.

Dr. Copur has demonstrated strong leadership in cancer research activities at the local and national  level. He has also maintained an active role within national organizations focused on community cancer research. His presence within the NCCCP and NCORP has been well known and documented. Beyond this Dr. Copur has been a strong advocate within ASCO for community-based research programs where he has served on the ASCO Clinical Research Committee, and ASCO Community Research Forum Working Group, a subgroup of the ASCO Cancer Research Committee.  He has also served on other ASCO committees including the ASCO Clinically Meaningful Outcomes Subcommittee and currently serving in ASCO clinical Practice Guidelines Implementation Network (PGIN). By virtue of his broad leadership roles, Dr. Copur is extensively connected to local, regional, and national leaders in cancer medicine making him a prominent and effective leader in community cancer research efforts.