Our Research
The Ferguson lab investigates molecular and circuit-specific mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability, with ~20% of individuals suffering from clinical depression during their lifetime. Depression is a heterogeneous syndrome consisting of several subtypes and abnormalities in multiple brain regions. Despite the prevalence of depression and its considerable impact, knowledge about its pathophysiology is limited. The Ferguson lab has developed several leading-edge technical approaches to elegantly dissect the cell and circuit-specific mechanisms of depression including cell- type specific RNA-Seq, cell and circuit-specific optogenetic approaches, epigenetic remodeling using CRISPR/Cas9, operant measures of reward, single- cell RNA-seq and the establishment of 19 unique transgenic lines. Using these cutting-edge molecular and circuit approaches, the Ferguson lab aims to develop better diagnostic tests, treatments, and preventive measures for depression.
The Ferguson lab investigates molecular and circuit-specific mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability, with ~20% of individuals suffering from clinical depression during their lifetime. Depression is a heterogeneous syndrome consisting of several subtypes and abnormalities in multiple brain regions. Despite the prevalence of depression and its considerable impact, knowledge about its pathophysiology is limited. The Ferguson lab has developed several leading-edge technical approaches to elegantly dissect the cell and circuit-specific mechanisms of depression including cell- type specific RNA-Seq, cell and circuit-specific optogenetic approaches, epigenetic remodeling using CRISPR/Cas9, operant measures of reward, single- cell RNA-seq and the establishment of 19 unique transgenic lines. Using these cutting-edge molecular and circuit approaches, the Ferguson lab aims to develop better diagnostic tests, treatments, and preventive measures for depression.
Lab News
Ferguson Lab graduate student receives prestigious award:
Tanessa Call, a graduate student in the laboratory of Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, was selected to receive the Harry Lowell Swift Advancing Health Care Scholarship. Call is working towards her PhD in neuroscience at Arizona State University.
phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/graduate-student-awarded-scholarship
Dr. Ferguson Recognized as Inspiring Black Scientist:
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix’s Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, has been named one of 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America by Cell Mentor, an online resource from Cell Press and Cell Signaling Technology that provides early-career researchers with career insights, publishing advice, and techniques on experimental processes and procedures.
https://healthsciences.arizona.edu/connect/honors/dr-deveroux-ferguson-recognized-inspiring-black-scientist
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix’s Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, has been named one of 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America by Cell Mentor, an online resource from Cell Press and Cell Signaling Technology that provides early-career researchers with career insights, publishing advice, and techniques on experimental processes and procedures.
https://healthsciences.arizona.edu/connect/honors/dr-deveroux-ferguson-recognized-inspiring-black-scientist
Drs. Ferguson and Qiu awarded highly competitive NIH Grant:
Principal investigators Shenfeng Qiu, PhD, and Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, and postdoctoral fellows Jing Wei, PhD, and Hee-Dae Kim, PhD, in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the College, were recently awarded a two-year, National Institutes of Health R21 project for $422,125.
https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/researchers-awarded-highly-competitive-nih-grant
Principal investigators Shenfeng Qiu, PhD, and Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, and postdoctoral fellows Jing Wei, PhD, and Hee-Dae Kim, PhD, in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the College, were recently awarded a two-year, National Institutes of Health R21 project for $422,125.
https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/researchers-awarded-highly-competitive-nih-grant
Dr. Ferguson awarded R01 to study novel antidepressants:
Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, was awarded an RO1 grant by the National Institutes of Health for his research, which demonstrates the pivotal role of SIRT1, a protein-coding gene, in anxiety and depression behaviors in the nucleus accumbens, a key brain reward region.
https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/researcher-receives-nih-grant-discover-novel-antidepressants
Deveroux Ferguson, PhD, was awarded an RO1 grant by the National Institutes of Health for his research, which demonstrates the pivotal role of SIRT1, a protein-coding gene, in anxiety and depression behaviors in the nucleus accumbens, a key brain reward region.
https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/researcher-receives-nih-grant-discover-novel-antidepressants
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