Type Of Business:
University
Marketing Area:
International
Expertise:
Professor Veenstra's expertise includes cardiovascular and electrophysiology research, ion channels and gap junctions.
Major Product/SVS:
Higher Education
Hobbies/Sports:
Running, Bicycling, Cross-Country Skiing, Playing Sports, Attending the Theater, Watching Movies
Education Degrees:
Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health, Emory University (1986); Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics, The University of Iowa (1983); Bachelor's Degree in Zoology, Iowa State University of Science and Technology (1977)
Affiliations Awards:
Hamilton White Society; Biophysical Society; Society of General Physiologists; The American Physiological Society; The American Society for Cell Biology
Place of Birth:
Des Moines
Industry:
Medical Research and Education
Date of Distinction:
1/7/2009
Work History:
Research Associate, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine (1986)
Career Achievements:
Gating of Gap Junctions during Cardiac Action Potentials (2005); Polyamine Block of Connexin40 Gap Junctions (2003); Distinct Conductance and Permeability of Connexin Gap Junctions (1995); Functional Expression of Connexins in Neuro2a (N2a) Cells (1992); First Cardiac Gap Junction Channel Recording (1986)
What has been the most outstanding thing you have done thus far in your career?:
Professor Veenstra's greatest career achievement was obtaining the first recording of electric current flow between two heart cells through a single protein contact.
Throughout the duration of your career, what was the one highlight that stood out the most?:
The highlight of his career was being featured in the science journal, which vaulted him to his first and only faculty appointment.
Charity:
Executive Board, Onondaga Cycling Club; Earth Day Cleanup Event, Iroquois Chapter, Sierra Club; The Nature Conservancy; American Heart Association, Inc.; League of American Bicyclists; United Way International; World Wildlife Fund
What Does He/She Attribute Success To:
He attributes his success to his desire to learn, self-motivation and ability to utilize the opportunities that came his way.
Why did you become involved in your profession or industry?:
He became involved in his profession because he was curious about how things in nature work to perform their assigned functions.
Extended Bio Profile:
Professor Veenstra has published more than 12 book chapters and 39 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He has also participated and has delivered public speeches at the National Scientific Conferences and Biannual International Gap Junction Conference. He has sought the opportunity to apply a new methodology to pairs of embryonic chick cardiac myocytes as an NIH postdoctoral research fellow at Emory University. He also served as an associate professor from 1992 to 2006 and as an assistant professor from 1986 to 1992 at the university. He is in the process of discovering how the proteins conduct electrical current in the forms of ions like potassium and sodium and how these channels are regulated during physiological changes in the heart beat or during a heart attack.
Awards/Honors:
Finalist, Louis N. Katz Basic Science Research Prize for Young Investigators, American Heart Association, Inc. (1986)