George Billman

George Edward Billman was born on July 23, 1954, in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended Xavier University, graduating cum laude in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in natural science. He did his doctoral work at the University of Kentucky, earning a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics in 1980. From 1980 to 1982, Billman was a research associate under H. Lowell Stone at the University of Oklahoma. ==Career==

In 1982, Billman was promoted to Assistant Professor of Research at Oklahoma. In 1984, he accepted an assistant professor position at Ohio State University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1990 and made a full professor in 1996. Billman was elected a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2001. He is also a member of The Physiological Society in London, the American Physiological Society, the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL), and Sigma Xi. Billman consulted for Eli Lilly from 1987–1988, Glaxo from 1989–1991, Procter & Gamble from 1995–99. He has been a consultant for Sanofi Aventis since 1999. ==Research==

Billman's research has focused on cardiovascular physiology with an emphasis on ventricular fibrillation (VF) and the cardiovascular system's response to stress. His work has led to non-invasive (electrocardiograph) techniques to detect susceptibility to sudden cardiac death (SCD) in dogs. These electrocardiographic markers have subsequently been used clinically on humans. He has also studied the effects of exercise training and novel pharmaceutics on the test subject's susceptibility to fatal cardiac arrhythmias. He has performed experiments on live research dogs and using isolated ventricular myocytes. The model subsequently has been described as "an elegant in vivo model of sudden cardiac death" by cardiologist Michel de Lorgeril et al. and "a highly reliable canine model of sudden cardiac death" by physiologist Alexander Leaf et al. The model is described in Springer's handbook of reliable procedures for testing the potential effects of new drug candidates in the antiarrhythmic section. In the procedure, the left main anterior coronary artery is surgically blocked, and a hydraulic cuff is placed around the left circumflex coronary artery, allowing the artery to be blocked on demand. Experiments proceed after a month of recovery and treadmill training. These dogs are labeled susceptible, while the other 40–50% are labeled resistant. The initial study using the technique, published in 1982, found that decreased baroreflex sensitivity was associated with increased risk for ventricular fibrillation. This marked the first time an autonomic response was seen as having prognostic value. The same association was demonstrated in humans by Kleiger et al. in 1987 and "definitively" demonstrated in dogs in 1988 by Schwartz, Billman, et al. Billman's model of SCD has also shown that sudden death is not a direct function of the degree of a myocardial infarction and that baroreflex gain declines during MI. Resistant dogs show a reduced heart rate during ischemia, while susceptible dogs show increased heart rate (beyond that induced by the exercise). Reviewing the findings, physiologist Dwain L. Eckberg wrote that the model "seems to be extremely relevant" to human patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. Omega-3 fatty acids In 1994, Billman used his model of SCD to test the ability of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to prevent fatal arrhythmias. In the test, eight dogs otherwise susceptible to ventricular fibrillation were given a direct infusion of fish oil. Seven of the eight did not have VF during the test. Five of five animals retested in a follow-up control test (i.e, without treatment) had VF. The observed effect most likely resulted from a combination of direct chemical interaction on the cardiac cell membrane and a reduced heart rate caused by the omega-3s. Follow-up studies in 1997 and 1999 confirmed the results (P<0.005) and found both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (found in fish oil), as well as α-Linolenic acid (found in vegetable oil) to have antiarrhythmic effects. The same effect has been shown to occur in humans by other researchers. Billman's more recent work has focused on discovering the biochemical mechanisms of the antiarrhythmic effects of omega-3 fatty acids and on whether the same protection can be gained through dietary omega-3 fatty acids. Response to research Billman's experiments have been protested by animal rights activists. In 2007, a local group known as Protect Our Earth's Treasures, spurred by Ohio State approving the use of up to 120 additional dogs, protested Billman's research. Specifically, they were against the surgical blocking of arteries in Billman's model of sudden cardiac death and the subsequent euthanizing of surviving animals for future study. Two federal investigations found no evidence of wrongdoing, but PETA continued to campaign against the experiments. Billman received a new investigator award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1983−1986. He was the principal investigator on NIH R01 grants starting in 1986, 1995, 2002, and 2007, and on a National Institute on Drug Abuse R01 grant starting in 1990. He has also led studies paid for by Hoffmann-La Roche, Merck, and Sanofi-Aventis. ==Personal life==

George Billman and his wife, Rosemary, have been married since 1975. The couple has two children – George T. and Elyse T. and has determined that his own ancestor, Hans Theobald Billmann, who emigrated to the United States in 1752, was not in turn descended from ancestors previously identified by other amateur researchers. ==Publications==

, illustrated here by an electrocardiogram recording of canine heartbeat. Billman has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers, which have been cited more than 5000 times in peer-reviewed research. According to Web of Science, he has an h-index of 38, with 11 papers receiving more than 100 citations. Billman was the editor of the 2010 book Novel Therapeutic Targets for Antiarrhythmic Drugs published by John Wiley and Sons, and contributed three chapters to it. According to the publisher, the book describes the state of cardiac arrhythmia treatment and future directions the research may take. In a review of the book, Peter R. Kowey praised Billman for "[encouraging] blue sky thinking" in his contributions. Books • • • • Selected journal articles • • • • • • • • • • • • • ==References==