DN Rao Veeramachaneni

Dr. Veeramachaneni's research career focused on determining 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, his laboratory evaluated long-term reproductive sequelae following developmental exposure to ubiquitous pollutants. Compounds studied included anti-androgenic pesticides (DDT and its metabolites; vinclozolin), water disinfection byproducts, and plasticizers (phthalates). Notable findings included 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 provided morphological/andrological services spanning 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. This service of evaluation of the gametes at an ultrastructural level to assess potential fertility was valued by equine practitioners both nationally and internationally. Dr. Veeramachaneni also taught both graduate and undergraduate students in the areas of endocrine pharmacology, cancer therapeutics, andrology, and reproductive toxicology including courses such as Animal and Human Reproductive Biology, Essentials of Pathophysiology, Pathophysiology Perspectives, and Pharmacology.