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Ceponis Lab

Dr. Ceponis

Arnold Ceponis, MD, PhD, RhMSUS is an academic Board-certified rheumatologist who diagnoses and treats various rheumatic and autoimmune conditions. Dr Ceponis practices rheumatology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health System. Dr. Ceponis is certified in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Rheumatology (RhMSUS) by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and is a nationally recognized expert and instructor in the field of musculoskeletal ultrasound. Before becoming part of the Faculty at UCSD, Dr. Ceponis completed an internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Southern California (USC-LAC), LA, and Saint Joseph Health System in Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Ceponis completed his rheumatology fellowship at UCSD. He received an MD from the Medical Academy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and a PhD degree from Helsinki University.

Research Highlights

Examples of Dr. Ceponis' scholarly activities include research on diagnostic ultrasound's role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosis of secondary Sjögren's, and collaboration with UCSD Hemophilia Center. The latter study pioneered the introduction of MSKUS as a rapid diagnostic tool for joint bleeds in patients with hemophilia. This innovative clinical research and ultrasound use in hemophilic arthropathy was highlighted in NatureOutlook supplement magazine: 27 NOVEMBER 2014 | VOL 515 | NATURE | S171.


Ongoing research activity aimed at the development and utilization of minimally invasive ultrasound-guided synovial biopsy as a tool for obtaining target tissue for clinical and molecular phenotyping of inflammatory arthritis.

Read more about Dr. Ceponis' research