Moutsopoulos Haralampos

Medicine-Immunology    (2017)

Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos MD, FACP, FRCP (hc), Master ACR,  Emeritus Professor, Medical Schools, Universities of Ioannina and Athens and Member of Athens Academy  has developed, after being educated and having worked in academic centers of the USA, two centers of excellence in Greece for the study and therapy of Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders. A considerable number of his students have joined the staff of Medicals Schools in Greece and abroad.   His novel research contributions include: a) Studies in experimental animal mice models of autoimmune diseases, as well as clinical studies which revealed that the immune system in autoimmune diseases is activated and not dysfunctional b) clinical studies described  new manifestations or subgroups of autoimmune disorders, prognostic risk factors of disease evolution, diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions (in Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome and vasculitis), c) immunochemical studies evaluating autoantibodies, cryoglobulins, epitopes and complementary epitopes of autoantigens, c) immunopathologic and molecular studies of the pathologic lesion from Sjögren’s syndrome patients, which dissected the composition of autoreactive cells and showed the significant role of glandular epithelial cells as initiators and perpetuators of the autoimmune insult. His publications exceed 550, (citations 36.000 and h-index over 96, Google Scholar). He has been invited to present the results of his studies and teach in Medical Centers, Research Institutions and Meetings all around the world. For his scientific contributions he has been awarded with prestigious prices in Greece, Europe and U.S.A.  Professor Moutsopoulos in addition to his scientific publications has written articles in newspapers and books, commenting issues related to Health System, education and research.