Jane Ferguson Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and an Associate Director of the Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center.
Dr. Ferguson completed a BA in Human Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD in Nutrigenomics at University College Dublin, Ireland, before moving to Philadelphia for postdoctoral training in Cardiovascular Genomics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ferguson moved to Nashville to join the faculty at Vanderbilt in October 2014.
The Ferguson lab is broadly focused on genomic and environmental determinants of complex disease, and in particular on the role of inflammation in cardiometabolic disease development. Our research utilizes both “wet” and “dry” lab approaches, with a particular focus on functional genomics and translational research. We are interesting in using large-scale high-throughput omics data, including genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and metagenomics to understand the interactions between genetic and environmental factors in disease development.
An interview with
our scientist:
Learn more about
her research:
In a nutshell, what do you study?
Cardiometabolic disease!
Why is your research important? What is its larger impact, and/or how do you foresee it impacting public health?
Cardiovascular disease kills 1 in 3 people, and affects 2 in 3 people worldwide. Even small knowledge gains from my research could impact the lives of huge numbers of people.
What is one topic in your field that you are excited about right now?
The role of microbiota-derived metabolites in disease.
When you were 5, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?
An inventor - I loved being creative, and in hindsight I can see that I was drawn to science from a young age.
What was it about science that drew you to it?
I was fascinated by nature and human health, and always like learning more about something. I think the utilitarian nature of biomedical research was also a big draw.
What has been your biggest challenge as a scientist?
Moving from being a student, where you learn things that are already known, to being a researcher, where you have to be comfortable working at the edges of the unknown.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to a new graduate student?
Take care of yourself, especially your mental health. Science can be tough, and there is a lot of rejection, but that doesn't mean you don't belong here!
