Much of the work carried out by DTT is in support of the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an interagency partnership of the Food and Drug Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and NIEHS.

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Molecular Toxicology & Genomics Group

Stephen S. Ferguson, Ph.D.
Chemist

Tel 984-287-3128
[email protected]

P.O. Box 12233

Mail Drop E1-10

Durham, NC 27709

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Metabolite formation with human drug substrates over a range of in vitro liver models showing free-floating 3D microtissue models are superior to conventional 2D systems. (Image courtesy of Predictive Toxicology & Screening Group)

Predicting potencies for human liver injury in response to drugs and environmental chemicals. The Power of Resolution: Contextualized Understanding of Biological Responses to Liver Injury Chemicals Using High-throughput Transcriptomics and Benchmark Concentration Modeling, Toxicological Sciences, Volume 169, Issue 2, June 2019, Pages 553–566. Full Text (Image courtesy of Predictive Toxicology & Screening Group)

Stephen Ferguson is an Investigator within the Mechanistic Toxicology Branch of the Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT) leading multiple research initiatives to model and predict human responses to chemical exposures. His principal focus seeks to advance the development, qualification, and application of physiologically relevant in vitro screening models and microphysiological systems (MPS) that emulate integrated aspects of tissue functionality (e.g., liver, kidney) and biological response to xenobiotic exposures (e.g., per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), botanical mixtures, human therapeutics).

Prior to joining the DTT, Ferguson led the ADME-Tox R&D program of Life Technologies (now Thermo-Fisher) where he and his team developed advanced in vitro liver models and assay systems to predict human drug metabolism, transport, drug-drug interactions and hepatotoxicity. He received his BS and PhD degrees in chemistry and biotechnology from North Carolina State University, and currently serves as adjunct faculty to the Curriculum in Toxicology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Actin staining of 3D microtissue of a 10-donor pool of patient-derived primary liver cells. (Image courtesy of Predictive Toxicology & Screening Group)

Recent Publications