NUHS Faculty Dana Madigan, DC, MPH, recently received the American Chiropractic Association’s Academician of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals for their efforts to advance the profession through academic or educational excellence.

In addition to teaching and conducting research at NUHS, Dr. Madigan recently earned her doctorate in environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). This doctorate follows the coordinated MPH/DC program she was the first to complete from UIC and NUHS in 2013. In 2012, she was also the first chiropractic student selected for the prestigious  Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.

In the last ten years, Dr. Madigan’s studies at NUHS and UIC have combined two unique health care perspectives: chiropractic and public health. She has worked on a long list of projects related to manipulation, public health educational competencies in doctor of chiropractic programs, work-related musculoskeletal concerns in massage therapists and the attitudes of healthcare workers in the country of Ghana toward chiropractic care.

“Her public health research, presented all over the U.S. and abroad, has had a tremendous impact spreading the word about the role complementary and integrative health (CIH) can play in improving the public’s health and well being,” said NUHS Dean of Research Gregory Cramer, DC, PhD.

Dr. Madigan’s work also highlights the unique opportunities for chiropractic students interested in research. When she first started her degree at NUHS, Dr. Madigan said she wasn’t aware of all the opportunities available to chiropractic physicians in the fields of research and public health.

“At the time, I was interested in learning more about chiropractic which I thought could, in collaboration with other providers, have positive impacts in communities around the world that had limited health care resources,” she said.

Over the years, Dr. Madigan’s work at both UIC and NUHS has helped deepen the partnership between the schools. It has allowed for more conversations with those at UIC on chiropractic and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions as well as more focus on public health within the NUHS campus community.

“In my experience, there is curiosity related to chiropractic and CAM as many want to know more about how we can contribute to public health goals,” Dr. Madigan said. “I’m looking forward to staying affiliated with both NUHS and UIC and continuing the lines of research already in motion.”