Dr. John Madigan is a distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Animal Welfare. He is the recipient of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant from Stanford University investigating the birth transition of consciousness of infants based on his discoveries in neonatal foals. 

Dr. Madigan started the UC Davis equine neonatal critical care unit in 1987 at UC Davis. He saw the need for sharing of the unique protocols and treatment modalities that were being developed at UC Davis and around the world. The manual's first edition was born in 1987 and received worldwide acclaim for its easily accessible and current state-of-the-art information. His publications in the area of neonatal foals have had a significant impact on the way foals are treated at birth, including prevention of infection, umbilical disinfection, umbilical ultrasound methods, meconium retention treatments, methods of restraint, prevention of salmonellosis and other enteric diseases in foals, and early recognition, prevention, critical care treatment evaluations, and treatments of septicemia.His latest discovery is that foals with Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome have significantly elevated brain-altering neurosteroids. Madigan followed this discovery that the birth canal pressures are part of the signal for the transition of consciousness at birth- hence the Madigan Squeeze procedure. This procedure is now used worldwide in foals, calves, lambs, goat kids, and crias. 

 

Dr. Madigan lectures worldwide and is available for invitation. He is regarded as one of the most engaging presenters in the field of veterinary medicine. He has received numerous awards, including the Legend of Academic Medicine from Kansas State University, the Alumni Achievement Award from UC Davis, the AVMA Animal Welfare award, the AAEP Milne Lecture Lifetime Achievement award from the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the University of California - Davis Cal Aggie Distinguished Service Award, and University of California-Davis - Public Scholarship Award.