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.
Mechanistic Toxicology Branch
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.
Recent Publications
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Wambaugh J, Sipes N, Mercado G, Arnot J, Bertato L, Brown T, Chirico N, Cook C, Dawson D, Davidson-Fritz S, Ferguson S, Goldsmith M, Grulke C, Judson R, Mansouri K, Patlewicz G, Papa E, Pradeep P, Sangion A, Sayre R, Thomas R, Tornero-Velez R, Wetmore B, Devito M. Collaborative evaluation of in silico predictions for high throughput toxicokinetics.
Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA.
2025 Sep 20;110:106150.
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AbstractWambaugh J, Sipes N, Mercado G, Arnot J, Bertato L, Brown T, Chirico N, Cook C, Dawson D, Davidson-Fritz S, Ferguson S, Goldsmith M, Grulke C, Judson R, Mansouri K, Patlewicz G, Papa E, Pradeep P, Sangion A, Sayre R, Thomas R, Tornero-Velez R, Wetmore B, Devito M. Collaborative evaluation of in silico predictions for high throughput toxicokinetics. Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA. 2025 Sep 20
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Luo X, Zhang L, Sakamuru S, Adesina P, Zhao J, Xia M, Xu T, Ngan D, Travers J, Wood S, Sukhawanit R, Garrison A, Klumpp-Thomas C, Ferguson S, Zhu H, Hall M, Reif D, Huang R. Systematic evaluation of Tox21 compounds that target β-adrenergic receptors and their role in cardiotoxicity.
Toxicology and applied pharmacology.
2025 Sep 14;505:117567.
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AbstractLuo X, Zhang L, Sakamuru S, Adesina P, Zhao J, Xia M, Xu T, Ngan D, Travers J, Wood S, Sukhawanit R, Garrison A, Klumpp-Thomas C, Ferguson S, Zhu H, Hall M, Reif D, Huang R. Systematic evaluation of Tox21 compounds that target β-adrenergic receptors and their role in cardiotoxicity. Toxicology and applied pharmacology. 2025 Sep 14
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Wambaugh J, Paul Friedman K, Beal M, Moffat I, Hughes M, Nong A, Dorne J, Ashraf M, Barton-Maclaren T, DeVito M, Ferguson S, Judson R, Long A, Paini A, Sampani S, Thomas R, Wetmore B. Applying New Approach Methods for Toxicokinetics for Chemical Risk Assessment.
Chemical research in toxicology.
2025 Aug 18;38(8):1408-1441.
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AbstractWambaugh J, Paul Friedman K, Beal M, Moffat I, Hughes M, Nong A, Dorne J, Ashraf M, Barton-Maclaren T, DeVito M, Ferguson S, Judson R, Long A, Paini A, Sampani S, Thomas R, Wetmore B. Applying New Approach Methods for Toxicokinetics for Chemical Risk Assessment. Chemical research in toxicology. 2025 Aug 18
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Moyer H, Vergara L, Stephan C, Sakolish C, Lin H, Chiu W, Villenave R, Hewitt P, Ferguson S, Rusyn I. Human Small Intestinal Tissue Models to Assess Barrier Permeability: Comparative Analysis of Caco-2 Cells, Jejunal and Duodenal Enteroid-Derived Cells, and EpiIntestinalTM Tissues in Membrane-Based Cultures with and Without Flow.
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland).
2025 Jul 28;12(8):.
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AbstractMoyer H, Vergara L, Stephan C, Sakolish C, Lin H, Chiu W, Villenave R, Hewitt P, Ferguson S, Rusyn I. Human Small Intestinal Tissue Models to Assess Barrier Permeability: Comparative Analysis of Caco-2 Cells, Jejunal and Duodenal Enteroid-Derived Cells, and EpiIntestinalTM Tissues in Membrane-Based Cultures with and Without Flow. Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland). 2025 Jul 28
]
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Sakamuru S, Travers J, Klumpp-Thomas C, Huang R, Witt K, Ferguson S, Simmons S, Reif D, Simeonov A, Xia M. Profiling the Tox21 Compound Library for Their Inhibitory Effects on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes.
International journal of molecular sciences.
2025 May 22;26(11):.
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AbstractSakamuru S, Travers J, Klumpp-Thomas C, Huang R, Witt K, Ferguson S, Simmons S, Reif D, Simeonov A, Xia M. Profiling the Tox21 Compound Library for Their Inhibitory Effects on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes. International journal of molecular sciences. 2025 May 22
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More Recent Publications from PubMed
