Stephen S. Ferguson

Biography

Stephen S. Ferguson is a scientist in the Molecular Toxicology and Genomics Group within the Biomolecular Screening Branch (BSB) of National Toxicology Program (NTP). Ferguson is also adjunct faculty in the National Toxicology Program Laboratories (NTPL). In his current role, Ferguson leads NTP efforts to develop and apply more physiologically-relevant in vitro toxicology screening models as part of Phase III of the Tox21 program. Working with the BSB and NTPL, Ferguson’s current research focuses on development of organotypic liver models (96- and 384-well) that better reflect tissue functionality and liver-like xenobiotic metabolism competence. These models are being integrated with data-rich molecular assay platforms (i.e. transcriptomics, metabolomics) and cellular phenotypes (i.e. cell growth, cell viability, stress response) to explore chemical-biological interactions and toxicity potential. Quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) methods are being developed with these approaches to relate in vitro responses to human/clinical significance for risk assessment.

Research Interest

Molecular Toxicology and Genomics