Alejandro Comellas MD

Asthma & COPD, Critical Care Medicine, Interventional Pulmonology, Pleural Disease

Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine. Director of the ICTS Clinical Research Unit at the University of Iowa.

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200 Hawkins DrIowa City, IA 52242
Phone+1 319-384-6484
Fax+1 319-353-6406

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Education & Training

McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern UniversityFellowship, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, 2001 - 2005
McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern UniversityResidency, Internal Medicine, 1999 - 2001
University of Illinois College of Medicine at ChicagoInternship, Internal Medicine, 1998 - 1999
Central University of VenezuelaClass of 1996
Central University of VenezuelaClass of 1996

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Certifications & Licensure

IA State Medical License 2008 - 2028
IL State Medical License 1998 - 2008
American Board of Internal Medicine Critical Care Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Faculty Teacher of the Year Department of Internal Medicine. Univesity of Iowa, 2017
CMS Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification EpicCare Ambulatory 2014 Certified EHR Suite, Epic Systems Corporation, 2012-2014, 2016-2017
CMS Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification EpicCare Inpatient 2014 Certified EHR Suite (with Beaker), Epic Systems Corporation, 2012-2014, 2016-2017

Clinical Trials

Examining the Genetic Factors That May Cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Symbicort in Airway Predominant Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
COMPLETED
PHASE4
Roflumilast in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patients Treated With Fixed Dose Combinations of Long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) and Inhaled Corticosteroid (ICS) Start of enrollment: 2011 Sep 30
COMPLETED
PHASE4

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Emergency Preparedness in Older Adults With and Without COPD During Power Outages and Natural Disasters.
Alejandro P Comellas, Emma M Stapleton, Brandi Janssen, Hans-Joachim Lehmler, Peter S Thorne
Journal of Applied Gerontology. 2026-10-01
Risk Factors for Persistent Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry.
Ercole Barsotti, Mazen Aiche, Becky Skinner, Alejandro P Comellas, Spyridon Fortis
Respiratory Care. 2026-09-01
Cardiovascular, Renal, and Pulmonary Risks of Long COVID: A Retrospective Cohort Study Stratified by Age and Sex.
Akash Pradeep, Izola Ramalho, Martha L Carvour, Srija M Sivamurugan, Upinder Singh
Journal of the American Heart Association. 2026-09-01

Press Mentions

Long Covid: Researchers Track down Cause of 'Brain Fog'November 26th, 2024
Long-COVID’s Effects Can Now Be Detected Using Simple Chest X-raysDecember 10th, 2022
Coronavirus: Researchers Detect Long COVID’s Impact on Lungs Using Chest X-raysNovember 4th, 2022

Grant Support

: Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia in COPD and CT-based PhenotypesUNIVERSITY OF IOWA2025–2027
All of Us Research Program Heartland Consortium (AoURP-HC)UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER2023–2027
CT-based Characterization of Lung Volume-determined Airway and Chest Wall Deformation Interdependences in COPDUNIVERSITY OF IOWA2024–2026
Spiromics IINIH2017–2022
Environmental Health Sciences Research CenterNIH2017–2022