{"id":2663,"date":"2025-10-14T12:49:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T16:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/alcohol\/?page_id=2663"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:21:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:21:06","slug":"laura-ferguson-ph-d","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/alcohol\/laura-ferguson-ph-d\/","title":{"rendered":"Laura Ferguson, Ph.D."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/main><\/p>\n

Assistant Professor
\nBowles Center for Alcohol Studies
\n<\/strong> Department of Psychiatry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Office \u0399<\/strong> 3027A Thurston-Bowles Bldg, CB #7178
\n<\/strong> Email \u0399<\/strong> lbferg@email.unc.edu<\/a>
\nOffice Phone \u0399<\/strong> 919-445-0916
\nLab Phone \u0399 <\/strong>919-445-3862
\nLab Website \u0399 <\/strong>Ferguson Lab<\/a>
\n<\/strong> Biographical Sketch \u0399 <\/strong>Ferguson Biosketch<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Research Synopsis<\/h2>\n

The Ferguson laboratory investigates the molecular and systems-level mechanisms that drive alcohol use disorder and related neuropsychiatric conditions. We are particularly interested in how communication between the brain and periphery influences vulnerability to addiction and shapes treatment outcomes. To address these questions, we combine computational, molecular, and behavioral approaches in both mice and humans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our work integrates multi-omics datasets, cross-species analyses, and gene network modeling to identify biomarkers of alcohol-related behaviors and reveal mechanistic pathways that can be targeted for intervention. A major focus is on developing transcriptome-guided biomarker panels and strategies for drug discovery and repurposing, with the long-term goal of advancing precision medicine approaches for addiction and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Publications<\/h2>\n

Click here for a full list of publications.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies Department of Psychiatry Office \u0399 3027A Thurston-Bowles Bldg, CB #7178 Email \u0399 lbferg@email.unc.edu Office Phone \u0399 919-445-0916 Lab Phone \u0399 919-445-3862 Lab Website \u0399 Ferguson Lab Biographical Sketch \u0399 Ferguson Biosketch Research Synopsis The Ferguson laboratory investigates the molecular and systems-level mechanisms that drive alcohol use disorder and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15215,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2663","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLaura Ferguson, Ph.D. | Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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