DN Rao Veeramachaneni

Professor Biomedical Sciences

About DN Rao

Dr. Veeramachaneni is a Professor of Reproductive Biology. Research in his laboratory seeks to determine if deteriorating reproductive health in males is really idiopathic, as male infertility often is labeled, or a consequence of exposure to environmental pollutants. Using a variety of laboratory animal models, long-term reproductive sequelae following developmental exposure to ubiquitous pollutants are evaluated. The compounds that have been studied include anti-androgenic pesticides (DDT and its metabolites; vinclozolin), water disinfection byproducts, and plasticizers (phthalates). Notable findings include the impairment of spermiogenesis long after exposure to common chemical contaminants in drinking water and occurrence of carcinoma in situ lesions in the testis following developmental exposures to DDT. Veeramachaneni's laboratory also provides morphological/andrological services that span a variety of tissue matrices in clinical research paradigms (from a variety of species including domesticated, wild, and laboratory animals as well as humans) to facilitate identification, and in many instances interpretation, of subtle lesions. The value of evaluation of the gametes at an ultrastructural level to assess potential fertility is particularly recognized by equine practitioners nationally and internationally. Dr. Veeramachaneni teaches BMS 460-Essentials of Pathophysiology and BMS 461-Pathophysiology Perspectives, a capstone course series in the Biomedical Sciences undergraduate major curriculum. He also teaches endocrine pharmacology and cancer therapeutics in BMS 450-Pharmacology and in the areas of andrology and reproductive toxicology in several undergraduate and graduate level courses (BMS 409, 640, 642).

Education

PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1985BVSc, A P Agricultural University, India, 1972MS, A P Agricultural University, India, 1975

Publications

Thompson RE, Meyers MA, Palmer J, Veeramachaneni DNR, Magee C, de Mestre AM, Antczak DF, Hollinshead FK. 2023. Production of Mare Chorionic Girdle Organoids That Secrete Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin. Int J Mol Sci 24(11):9538.Blawut B, Wolfe B, Premanandan C, Schuenemann G, Ludsin SA, Liu S-L, Veeramachaneni DNR, Cutinho da Silva MA (2023). Effects of activation and assisted reproduction techniques on the composition, structure, and properties of the sauger (Sander canadensis) spermatozoan plasma membrane. Theriogenology 198:87-99.Thompson RE, Meyers MA, Veeramachaneni DNR, Pukazhenthi BS, Hollinshead FK. 2022. Equine Oviductal Organoid Generation and Cryopreservation. Methods Protoc 15; 5(3):51.Blawut B, Wolfe B, Premanandan C, Schuenemann G, Ludsin SA, Veeramachaneni DNR, Cutinho da Silva MA. 2021. Spatial and Temporal Changes in Testis Morphology and Sperm Ultrastructure of the Sportfish Sauger (Sander canadensis). Acta Zoologica DOI: 10.1111/azo.12399.Loveland KL, Rajpert-De Meyts E, and Veeramachaneni DNR. 2018. Testicular Cancer in Relation to Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome. In: Comprehensive Toxicology, 3rd Edition (Ed. McQueen, CA), Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Vol 4, pp 147-164.Veeramachaneni DNR. 2012. Ultrastructural evaluation of semen to assess effects of exposure to toxicants. Toxicol Pathol 40:382-390. Veeramachaneni DNR, Palmer JS, Amann RP. 2001. Long-term effects on male reproduction of early exposure to common chemical contaminants in drinking water. Human Reprod 16:979-987.Veeramachaneni DNR. 2000. Deteriorating trends in male reproduction: Idiopathic or Environmental? Anim Reprod Sci 60-61:121-130. (Plenary lecture, XIV International Congress on Animal Reproduction, Stockholm). Veeramachaneni DNR, Ott RS, Heath EH, McEntee K, Bolt DJ, Hixon JE. 1986. Pathophysiology of small testes in beef bulls: relationship between scrotal circumference, histopathologic features of testes and epididymides, seminal characteristics, and endocrine profiles. Am J Vet Res. 47:1988-1999.

Research Specialty

Andrology and Reproductive ToxicologyMixed Animal (large and small)Wildlife/Zoo