Published 2/5/2024

John Middleton, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, was recently named the recipient of the 2024 National Mastitis Council Award of Excellence. Middleton serves as chief of staff and associate vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Missouri and is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. The award, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, is presented annually to an individual with evidence of sustained contribution to mastitis prevention and control through research.

The National Mastitis Council is a not-for profit professional organization that is committed to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality in dairy cows. The NMC promotes research and provides information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality and milk safety. Founded in 1961, the organization now has approximately 1,100 members in 40 different countries.

Middleton earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD degrees from the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he began his primary research focus on bovine mastitis. Since 2001, Middleton has been at Mizzou and has held clinical, teaching, research and administrative roles. He has served in multiple roles for the NMC throughout the years. From 2010-2016, Middleton held a role on the NMC board, serving as the organization’s president in 2014. He has also held leadership roles in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“He not only worked diligently to teach each of his students how to be good scientists, but also how to share our work with fellow researchers, producers and industry personnel,” said Pamela Adkins, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, assistant professor of food animal medicine and surgery at the MU CVM. “He worked meticulously through draft after draft to make sure we were communicating our work appropriately and clearly. John’s dedication to the success of his students is visible today, as several of us have gone on to continue to work in academia and develop our careers as dairy researchers.”

Along with the award comes a $2,500 honorarium presented by Boehringer Ingelheim and up to $2,500 in reimbursement for travel, lodging and attendance at the NMC meeting, where the award was given. This year’s National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting was held from Jan. 29 – Feb. 1 in Dallas.