University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1984, Psychology, Little Rock, AR
University of Wisconsin, 1987, Animal Behavior, Madison, WI
University of Wisconsin, 1990, Animal Behavior, Madison, WI

• 1984-1985 Predoctoral Fellow, Committee on Institutional Cooperation Minority Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• 1985 Predoctoral Fellow, Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• 1985-1988 Predoctoral Fellow, National Science Foundation Minority Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• 1988-1990 Predoctoral Fellow, Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• 1990-1993 Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Neurotoxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR.
• 1993-1995 Staff Fellow, Division of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR.
• 1995-1996 Research Psychologist, Division of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR.
• 1996-present Research Psychologist, Division of Neurotoxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR.

• 1989 Junior Scientist Travel Award, Methods in Behavioral Toxicology and Teratology Conference, Little Rock, AR.
• 1991 New Investigator Research Award, Neurobehavioral Teratology Society, Boca Raton, FL.
• 1992 Young Investigator Award, Behavioral Toxicology Society, Atlanta, GA.
• 1992 Travel Award, Neurobehavioral Teratology Society, Boca Raton, FL.
• 1994 NCTR Woman of the Year, Scientific/Medical (non-supervisory) category.
• 1994 Federal Woman of the Year for Arkansas, Scientific/Medical (non-supervisory) category.
• 1994, Federal Employee of the Year for Arkansas, Scientific and Medical category.
• FDA Equal Opportunity Award, 2002
• FDA Scientific Achievement Award for Excellence in Laboratory Science, 2002 - highest honor for laboratory science awarded by the Agency

• Characterizaton of neurobehavioral alterations resulting from treatment with endocrine disrupters, retinoic acids, and NMDA receptor agonists
• Acute drug effects on social behavior (e.g., play behavior, dominance)
• Rodent strain differences in behavior

• Ferguson, S.A.; Arrowood, J.W.; Schultetus, R.S.; Holson, R.R. Decreased dominance in a limited access test but normal maternal behavior in micrencephalic rats. Physiol. Behav., 58, 929-934, 1995.

• Binienda, Z.; Frederick, D.L.; Ferguson, S.A.; Rountree, R.L.; Paule, M.G.; Schmued, L.; Ali, S.F.; Slikker, W., Jr.; Scallet, A.C. The effects of perinatal hypoxia on the behavioral, neurochemical, and neurohistological toxicity of the metabolic inhibitor 3-nitropropionic acid. Metab. Brain Dis., 10, 269-282, 1995.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Paule, M.G. Effects of chlorpromazine and diazepam on time estimation behavior and motivation in rats. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav., 53, 115-122, 1996.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Felipa, H.N.; Bowman, R.E. Effects of acute treatment with dopaminergic drugs on open field behavior of adult monkeys treated with lead during the first year postpartum. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 18, 181-188, 1996.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Paule, M.G.; Holson, R.R. Functional effects of methylazoxymethanol-induced hypogranular cerebellar lesions in rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 18, 529-537, 1996.

• Binienda, Z.; Holson, R.R.; Chen, F.-X.; Oriaku, E.; Kim, C.S.; Flynn, T.J.; Slikker, W., Jr.; Paule, M.G.; Feuers, R.J.; Ferguson, S.A. Effects of ischemia-hypoxia induced by interruption of uterine blood flow on fetal rat liver and brain enzyme activities and offspring behavior. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci., 14, 399-408, 1996.

• Ferguson, S.A. A review of the neuroanatomical and functional alterations resulting from early postnatal cerebellar insults in rodents. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav., 55, 663-671, 1996.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Holson, R.R. Methylazoxymethanol-induced micrencephaly in the Brown Norway strain: Behavior and brain weight. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci., 15, 75-86; 1997.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Paule, M.G. Progressive ratio performance varies with body weight in rats. Behav. Neural Biol., 40, 177-182; 1997.

• Ferguson, S.A.; St. Omer, V.E.V.; Kwon, O.S.; Holson, R.R.; Houston, R.J.; Rottinghaus, G.E.; Slikker, W., Jr. Prenatal fumonisin (FB1) treatment in rats results in minimal maternal or offspring toxicity. Neurotoxicology, 18, 561-570, 1997.

• Holson, R.R.; Gazzara, R.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; Ali, S.F.; LaBorde J.B.; Adams, J. Gestational retinoic acid exposure: A sensitive period for effects on neonatal mortality and cerebellar development. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 19, 335-346, 1997.

• Holson, R.R.; Gazzara, R.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; Adams, J. A behavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of the lethality caused by gestational day 11-13 retinoic acid exposure. Neurotoxicol. Teratol.,19, 347-353, 1997.

• Holson, R.R.; Gazzara, R.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; Adams, J. Behavioral effects of low-dose gestational day 11-13 retinoic acid exposure. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 19, 355-362, 1997.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Holson, R.R.; Gazzara, R.A.; Siitonen, P.H. Minimal behavioral effects from moderate postnatal lead treatment in rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 20, 637-643, 1998.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Holson, R.R. Neonatal dexamethasone on day 7 causes mild hyperactivity and cerebellar stunting. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 21, 71-76; 1999.

• Holson, R.R.; Adams, J.; Ferguson, S.A. Gestational stage-specific effects of retinoic acid exposure in the rat. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 21, 393-402; 1999.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Frisby, N.B.; Ali, S.F. Acute effects of cocaine on play behavior of rats. Behav. Pharmacol., 11, 175-179; 2000.

• Cada, A.M.; Gray, E.P.; Ferguson, S.A. Minimal behavioral effects from developmental cerebellar stunting in young rats induced by postnatal treatment with a -difluoromethylornithine. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 22, 415-420; 2000.

• Bowyer, J.F.; Newport, G.D.; Slikker, W., Jr.; Gough, B.; Ferguson, S.A.; Tor-Agbidye, J. An evaluation of l-ephedrine neurotoxicity with respect to hyperthermia and caudate/putamen microdialysate levels of ephedrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate. Toxicol. Sci., 55, 133-142; 2000.

• Flynn, K.M.; Ferguson, S.A.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R. Effects of genistein exposure on sexually dimorphic behaviors in rats. Toxicol. Sci., 55:311-319; 2000.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Flynn, K.M.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R. Maternal and offspring toxicity but few sexually dimorphic behavioral alterations result from nonylphenol exposure. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., in press.

• Holson, R.R.; Adams, J.; Ferguson, S.A.; Scalzo, F.M. Retinoic acid exposure on gestational days 11-13 impairs swallowing in rat offspring. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., in press.

• Flynn, K.M.; Ferguson, S.A.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R. Multigenerational exposure to genistein has no severe effects on nursing behavior in rats. Neurotoxicology, in press.

• Ferguson, S.A.; Scallet, A.C.; Flynn, K.M.; Meredith, J.M.; Schwetz, B.A. Developmental neurotoxicity of endocrine disruptors: Focus on estrogens. Neurotoxicology, in press.

• Paule, M.G.; Rowland, A.S.; Ferguson, S.A.; Chelonis, J.J.; Tannock, R.; Swanson, J.M.; Castellanos, F. X. Symposium Overview: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Characteristics, Interventions and Models. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., in press.
   
• Flynn, K.M.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R.; Ferguson, S.A. Behavioral responses of rats exposed to long term dietary vinclozolin. J. Agric. Food Chem., 49, 1658-1665, 2001.
   
• Cada, A.M.; Hansen, D.K.; LaBorde, J.B.; Ferguson, S.A. Minimal effects from developmental exposure to St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) in Sprague-Dawley rats. Nutritional Neuroscience, 4, 135-141, 2001.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cada, A.M.; Gray, E.P.; Paule, M.G. No alterations in the performance of two interval timing operant tasks after -difluoromethylornithine (DFMO)-induced cerebellar stunting. Behav. Brain Res., 126, 135-146, 2001.
   
• Bowyer, J.F.; Hopkins, K.J.; Jakab, R.; Ferguson, S.A. l-ephedrine-induced neurodegeneration in the parietal cortex and thalamus of the rat is dependent on hyperthermia and can be altered by the process of in vivo brain microdialysis. Toxicol. Lett., 125, 151-166, 2001.
   
• Ferguson, S.A. Effects on brain and behavior caused by developmental exposure to endocrine disrupters with estrogenic effects. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 24, 1-3, 2002.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Flynn, K.M.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R.; Gough, B.J. Effects of lifelong dietary exposure to genistein or nonylphenol on amphetamine-stimulated striatal dopamine release in male and female rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 24, 37-45, 2002.
   
• Flynn, K.M.; Newbold, R.R.; Ferguson, S.A. Multigenerational exposure to dietary nonylphenol has no severe effects of spatial learning in female rats. NeuroToxicology, 23, 87-94, 2002.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Gray, E.P.; Cada, A.M. Early behavioral development in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat: A comparison with the Wistar-Kyoto and the Sprague-Dawley strains. Behav. Neurosci., 117, 263-270, 2003.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cada, A.M. A longitudinal study of short- and long-term activity levels in male and female Spontaneously Hypertensive, Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley rats. Behav. Neurosci., 117, 271-282, 2003.
   
• Scallet, A.C.; Wofford, M.; Meredith, J.C.; Allaben, W.T.; Ferguson, S.A. Dietary exposure to genistein increases vasopressin, but does not alter -endorphin, in the rat hypothalamus. Toxicol. Sci., 72, 296-300, 2003.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R.; Flynn, K.M. Dietary ethinyl estradiol exposure during development causes increased voluntary sodium intake and mild maternal and offspring toxicity in rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 25, 491-501, 2003.
   
• Slotkin, T.A.; Freibaum, B.D.; Tate, C.A.; Thillai, I.; Ferguson, S.A.; Cada, A.M.; Seidler, F.J. Long-lasting CNS effects of a short-term chemical knockout of ornithine decarboxylase during development: Nicotinic cholinergic receptor upregulation and subtle macromolecular changes in adulthood. Brain Res., 981, 118-125, 2003.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Gough, B.J.; Cada, A.M. In vivo basal and amphetamine-induced striatal dopamine and metabolite levels are similar in the Spontaneously Hypertensive, Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley male rats. Physiol. Behav., 80, 109-114, 2003.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cada, A.M. Developmental treatment with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) has few effects on behavior or body weight in Sprague-Dawley rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 26, 83-93, 2004.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cada, A.M. Spatial learning/memory and social & nonsocial behaviors in the Spontaneously Hypertensive, Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley rats strains. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav., 77, 583-594, 2004.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Berry, K.J.; Hansen, D.K.; Wall, K.S.; White, G.; Antony, A.C. Behavioral effects of prenatal folate deficiency in mice. Birth Defects Res. Part A: Clin. Mole. Teratol., 73, 249-252, 2005.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cisneros, F.J.; Gough, B.J.; Ali, S.F. Four weeks of oral isotretinoin treatment causes few signs of general toxicity in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Food and Chem. Toxicol., 43, 1289-1296, 2005.
   
• Flynn, K.M.; Delclos, K.B.; Newbold, R.R.; Ferguson, S.A. Long term dietary methoxychlor exposure in rats increases sodium solution consumption but has few effects on other sexually dimorphic behaviors. Food and Chem. Toxicol., 43, 1345-1354, 2005.
   
• Garey, J.; Ferguson, S.A.; Paule, M.G. Developmental and behavioral effects of acrylamide in Fischer 344 rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., 27, 553-563, 2005.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Gray, E.P. Aging effects on elevated plus maze behavior in Spontaneously Hypertensive, Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley male and female rats. Physiol. Behav., 85, 621-628, 2005.
   
• Cisneros, F.J.; Gough, B.J.; Patton, R.; Ferguson, S.A. Serum levels of albumin, triglycerides, total protein and glucose in rats are altered after oral treatment with low doses of 13-cis-retinoic acid or all-trans-retinoic acid. J. Appl. Toxicol., 25, 470-478, 2005.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Cisneros, F.J.; Gough, B.; Hanig, J.P.; Berry, K.J. Chronic oral treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid (isotretinoin) or all-trans-retinoic acid does not alter depression-like behaviors in rats. Toxicol. Sci., 87, 451-459, 2005.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Siitonen, P.H.; Cisneros, F.J.; Gough, B.; Young, J.F. Steady-state pharmacokinetics of oral treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid or all-trans-retinoic acid in male and female adult rats. Basic Clin. Pharmacol. Toxicol., 98, 582-587, 2006.
   
• Hotchkiss, C.E.; Blaydes, B.; Latendresse, J.; Ferguson, S.A. Oral treatment with 13-cis- and all-trans-retinoic acid decreases bone mass in rats. Comp. Med., in press.
   
• Ferguson, S.A.; Berry, K.J. Oral Accutane (13-cis-retinoic acid) has no effects on spatial learning and memory in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Neurotoxicol. Teratol., in press.