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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Luo X, Zhao J, Sakamuru S, Xia M, Xu T, Travers J, Klumpp-Thomas C, Zhu H, Hall M, Ferguson S, Reif D, Huang R. Integrating qHTS and QSAR Models to Identify Safe GPCR-Targeted Compounds: A Focus on hERG-Dependent Cardiotoxicity.
Journal of chemical information and modeling.
2026 Mar 09;66(5):2474-2487.
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AbstractLuo X, Zhao J, Sakamuru S, Xia M, Xu T, Travers J, Klumpp-Thomas C, Zhu H, Hall M, Ferguson S, Reif D, Huang R. Integrating qHTS and QSAR Models to Identify Safe GPCR-Targeted Compounds: A Focus on hERG-Dependent Cardiotoxicity. Journal of chemical information and modeling. 2026 Mar 09
]
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Smith-Roe S, DeVito M, Co C, Ramaiahgari S, Easterling M, Rice J, Dunlap P, Crizer D, Zhou Z, Merrick B, Xie G, Harris S, Shockley K, Tandon A, Oktay A, Mav D, Shah R, Borrel A, Gombar V, Masten S, Paules R, Ferguson S. Comparative investigation of the potential of glyphosate and glyphosate-based formulations to cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in human skin and liver cell systems.
Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.
2026 Mar 02;209(3):.
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AbstractSmith-Roe S, DeVito M, Co C, Ramaiahgari S, Easterling M, Rice J, Dunlap P, Crizer D, Zhou Z, Merrick B, Xie G, Harris S, Shockley K, Tandon A, Oktay A, Mav D, Shah R, Borrel A, Gombar V, Masten S, Paules R, Ferguson S. Comparative investigation of the potential of glyphosate and glyphosate-based formulations to cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in human skin and liver cell systems. Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology. 2026 Mar 02
]
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Nitsche K, Sakolish C, Carmichael P, Hewitt P, Bajaj P, Ferguson S, Lloyd S, Wilson S, Bouwmeester H, Rusyn I. Exploring the potential of liver microphysiological systems of varied configurations to model cholestatic chemical effects.
Archives of toxicology.
2026 Mar;100(3):1033-1047.
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AbstractNitsche K, Sakolish C, Carmichael P, Hewitt P, Bajaj P, Ferguson S, Lloyd S, Wilson S, Bouwmeester H, Rusyn I. Exploring the potential of liver microphysiological systems of varied configurations to model cholestatic chemical effects. Archives of toxicology. 2026 Mar
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Scherer M, Feshuk M, Armitage J, Arnot J, Crizer D, DeVito M, Ferguson S, Freeman K, Honda G, Harrill J, Sangion A, Tebes-Stevens C, Paul Friedman K, Wambaugh J. Characterizing Accuracy of Model Predictions for Chemical Concentration in High Throughput Screening Assays.
Environmental science & technology.
2026 Feb 17;60(6):4869-4877.
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AbstractScherer M, Feshuk M, Armitage J, Arnot J, Crizer D, DeVito M, Ferguson S, Freeman K, Honda G, Harrill J, Sangion A, Tebes-Stevens C, Paul Friedman K, Wambaugh J. Characterizing Accuracy of Model Predictions for Chemical Concentration in High Throughput Screening Assays. Environmental science & technology. 2026 Feb 17
]
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Negi C, Sakolish C, Tsai H, Nitsche K, Gang H, Bajaj P, Ferguson S, Stanko J, Hewitt P, Kukla D, Lloyd S, Villenave R, Rusyn I. Comparative Analysis of Species-Specific Hepatocyte Function and Drug Effects in a Liver Microphysiological System PhysioMimix LC12 and 96-Well Plates.
ACS pharmacology & translational science.
2025 Nov 14;8(11):4138-4158.
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AbstractNegi C, Sakolish C, Tsai H, Nitsche K, Gang H, Bajaj P, Ferguson S, Stanko J, Hewitt P, Kukla D, Lloyd S, Villenave R, Rusyn I. Comparative Analysis of Species-Specific Hepatocyte Function and Drug Effects in a Liver Microphysiological System PhysioMimix LC12 and 96-Well Plates. ACS pharmacology & translational science. 2025 Nov 14
]
More Recent Publications from PubMed
