Dr. Komers joined the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension research staff in March 1998. His major clinical and research focus is on diabetic kidney disease and on factors influencing the progression of renal disease in general.

Degrees:

• M.D. - Charles’ University, Prague, Czech Republic 1979-1985
• Degree in Internal Medicine, Postgraduate School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic, 1988
• Degree in Diabetology, Postgraduate School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic. 1994
• Ph.D. - Czech Academy of Sciences 4/1996
• Ph.D. Thesis - The role of endogenous vasoactive factors - nitric oxide, kallikrein-kinin and renin-angiotensin systems in the pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy

Residency:

Internal Medicine – Institute for clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic, 1985-1988

Fellowship:

Research Fellow - Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin and Repatriation Hospitals, Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia.

• Role of endogenous vasodilators in the pathophysiology of early renal hemodynamic changes in diabetic nephropathy Pathophysiology of the diabetes-associated vascular hypertrophy. Renal physiology of amylin. 4/1992 - 5/1994

Research Interest:

Diabetic kidney disease, role of endogenous vasoactive factors in the control of blood pressure and renal function.

Representative Publications:

• Komers R, Allen TJ and Cooper ME. Role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of the renal hemodynamic changes of experimental diabetes. Diabetes 43: 1190-1197, 1994
• Komers R, Cooper ME. Acute renal hemodynamic effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition in diabetic hyperfiltration: The role of kinins. Am J Physiol 268: F588-F594, 1995
• Rumble JR, Komers R, Cooper ME. Kinins or nitric oxide, or both, are involved in the antitrophic effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors on diabetes-associated mesenteric vascular hypertrophy in the rat. J Hypertens 14: 601-7, 1996
• Komers R, Cooper ME. Renal sodium handling in experimental diabetes: Role of NO. Nephrol Dial Transplant 11: 2170-2177, 1996
• Komers R, Komersova K, Kazdova L, Ruzickova J, Pelikanova T. Effect of ACE inhibition and angiotensin AT1 receptor blockade on renal and blood pressure response to L-arginine in humans. J Hypertension 18:51-9, 2000
• Komers R, Oyama TT, Chapman JG, Allison KM, Anderson S. Effects of systemic inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) in diabetic rats. Hypertension 35:655-61, 2000
• Komers R, Anderson S. Are ACE inhibitors the best treatment of hypertension in Type 2 diabetes? Current Opinion in Nephrology and Hypertension 9: 173-179, 2000
  Komers R, Lindsley JN, Oyama TT, Anderson S. Renal effects of inhibition of neuronal NOS (NOS1) in control and diabetic rats. Am J Physiol 2000, 279(3):F573-583.
• Komers R, Jessie N. Lindsley JN, Oyama TT, Schutzer WE, Reed JF, Mader S, and Anderson S. Immunohistochemical and functional correlations of renal cyclooxygenase-2 in experimental diabetes. J Clin Invest 107: 889-898, 2001
• Komers R, Anderson S , Meyer T. Pathophysiology and Nephron Adaptation in Chronic Renal Failure. In: Diseases of the Kidney, Schrier RW ed.,Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2001