Lupus Center of Excellence

Fotios Koumpouras, MD
Dr. Koumpouras is Medical Director for the Lupus Center of Excellence and Associate Chief of the Division of Rheumatology for West Penn Allegheny Health System. He also serves as Medical Director of the Medical Short Stay unit at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital.

Prior to joining WPAHS, Dr. Koumpouras was Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Koumpouras was born and raised in New York City, New York, and is a graduate of the Stuyvesant School. He completed his college education at State University of New York with honors in Biology and Chemistry. Prior to beginning medical school, he was a member of the research team at the Wadsworth Center New York State Department of Health investigating cyclin E as a prognostic marker for breast cancer.

He graduated first in his class from medical school, completed post graduate training in internal medicine and was elected as Chief Medical Resident by his peers. He then completed a prestigious rheumatology fellowship training program, as well as a program in Investigative Rheumatology at Yale University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Koumpouras has been involved with several clinical trials in systemic lupus, including Benlysta, which is a new biologic medication approved by the FDA in 2011 for the treatment of lupus; the role of vitamin D in systemic lupus, and the role of combination medications for patients with lupus of the kidney.  He also has interest in lupus biomarkers, lupus and the heart, and the gender gap of autoimmune disorders. 

Dr. Koumpouras is board certified in both internal medicine and rheumatology. He is an active member of the American College of Rheumatology, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Lupus Foundation of Pittsburgh.  He has given several patient seminars in SLE, and looks forward to expanding community outreach programs for the western Pennsylvania region.

Dr. Koumpouras sees patients with SLE and related disorders, Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, scleroderma, gout, and osteoarthritis.