Erica Macon

Professional Summary

Erica L. Macon is an Assistant Professor of Equine Science in the Equine Section of the Department of Animal Science. Dr. Macon is an agricultural enthusiast and took a variety of animal science classes during her undergraduate career at the University of Florida ranging from meat science to equine nutrition. For her Master’s and Ph.D.; however, she focused on equine nutritional endocrinology – more specifically equine metabolic syndrome or insulin dysregulation. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Macon completed ~1.5 years of post-doctoral training in diabetes 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.

Dr. Macon’s main passion is to discover 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. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Macon is an avid equestrian that dabbles in multiple disciplines with her Off the Track Thoroughbred.