George Billman

George Edward Billman (born July 23, 1954) is an American physiologist and professor at Ohio State University. After receiving a Ph.D from the University of Kentucky in 1980, Billman began his professional career at the University of Oklahoma. In 1984, he joined the Ohio State staff, where he became an associate professor in 1990 and a full professor in 1996.

Billman's research has focused on cardiovascular function, in particular its role in the induction of ventricular fibrillation (VF). He developed non-invasive methods to study autonomic neural regulation of the heart, using a canine model of sudden cardiac death (SCD). These techniques have subsequently been used in human patients to identify people at high risk for VF. Billman has used his sudden cardiac death models to study the effects of exercise training on susceptibility to SCD and the effects of omega-3 fatty acids, among other things. Due to his use of live animals in experiments, Billman has been criticized by animal rights activists; however, a 2009 regulatory investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.