Rate My Professor Scott Ferguson

Dr. Scott A. Ferguson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology within the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago, part of the Health Sciences Division. He earned his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Otago between 2003 and 2007. Since June 2016, he has held his current position in the Cook Lab, where he contributes to research on bacterial physiology and antimicrobial development. Ferguson's early work focused on the structural and biochemical characterization of ATP synthases in extremophilic bacteria, including Na+-translocating F1Fo-ATPases in thermoalkaliphilic Clostridium paradoxum and regulation of F1-ATPase in Caldalkalibacillus thermarum.

Ferguson's research specializations encompass antibiotic resistance mechanisms, host-microbe interactions, and translational applications in agriculture and veterinary science, such as combating mastitis-causing pathogens in dairy cows. He investigates novel strategies like the zinc ionophore PBT2, which synergizes with zinc to reverse antibiotic resistance and exhibits multiple bactericidal mechanisms against pathogens including Fusobacterium nucleatum. Key publications include 'Regulation of the thermoalkaliphilic F1-ATPase from Caldalkalibacillus thermarum' (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2016), 'Chemical synergy between ionophore PBT2 and zinc reverses antibiotic resistance' (mBio, 2018), 'Multiple bactericidal mechanisms of the zinc ionophore PBT2' (mSphere, 2020), 'Structural Investigations of the Membrane-Embedded Rotor Ring of the F-ATPase from Clostridium paradoxum' (Journal of Bacteriology, 2006), 'A1Ao-ATP synthase of Methanobrevibacter ruminantium couples sodium ions for ATP synthesis under physiological conditions' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2011), and 'Comammox Nitrospira Clade B is the most abundant complete ammonia oxidizer in a dairy pasture soil' (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2022). His scholarship has garnered over 700 citations on Google Scholar. Ferguson supervises doctoral students on topics including metal ion disruption in bacteria and epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus. His work advances understanding of bacterial metal homeostasis and supports development of new antimicrobials for clinical and agricultural use.