Erica Macon

Professional Summary

Erica L. Macon, M.S., P.A.S., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Equine Science in the Department of Animal Science, where she teaches graduate equine nutrition and equine health and disease for undergraduate students. In addition to teaching, Dr. Macon serves as the faculty advisor for the Horsemen’s Association at Texas A&M University. Dr. Macon is an agricultural enthusiast and grew up showing livestock (swine and beef cattle) in 4-H. Dr. Macon received her bachelor’s in animal science from the University of Florida where she took part in determining ammonia output volumes from horses fed different concentrations of protein. For her master’s and Ph.D., however, she focused on equine nutritional endocrinology – more specifically equine metabolic syndrome or insulin dysregulation. Her dissertation serves as the foundation for nutritional recommendations for horses with insulin dysregulation associated with metabolic syndrome. In fact, parts of her dissertation have been cited as the most clinically relevant articles by the Equine Veterinary Education Journal. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Macon completed ~1.5 years of post-doctoral training in endocrinology in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky (UK). During her time as a postdoc, Dr. Macon investigated the effects of FDA-approved drugs on the sympathoadrenal response in Type 1 Diabetic rodents in order to develop therapies for people that suffer from Type 1 Diabetes. Additionally, Dr. Macon utilized human clinical data to develop an improved method to identify a common complication of Type 1 and severe Type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia unawareness.  At TAMU, Dr. Macon investigates what leads to impaired insulin signaling in the endocrine diseased equid. Her primary focus is the development of improved diagnostics and therapies that have the potential to elucidate the mechanisms behind hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis.

Dr. Macon has received multiple awards from different organizations, including the Equine Science Society, Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, SEC Emerging Scholars, and the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Macon is an avid supporter of minorities in STEM. She has served as a mentor through multiple organizations, including Women in Internal Medicine and the Start to Finish Program. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Macon is an avid equestrian that dabbles in multiple disciplines with her OTTB, Briggs.