New Epidemiology Program Director

December 3, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Tekeda Ferguson!

Dr. Ferguson is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and serves as Co-Director of the LSUHSC Comprehensive Alcohol HIV/AIDS Research Center Administrative Core.

Dr. Ferguson received her BS and MPH from Tulane University before receiving her MSPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Ferguson completed fellowships sponsored by the American Heart Association and the National Institute of Health National Heart Lung Blood Institute. Dr. Ferguson was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health/Epidemiology in the St. Louis University School of Public Health before joining the LSUHSC School of Public Health in 2011.

Dr. Ferguson is an accomplished scholar, teacher and leader. She serves as PI of a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (P60) grant on Community and Interpersonal Stress, Alcohol, and Chronic Comorbidities Among People Living with HIV. Among her recent publications are: “Associations of Binge Drinking and Heavy Alcohol Use on Sugar and Fat Intake in a Cohort of Southern People Living with HIV,” Alcohol and Alcoholism (2021) and “Skeletal Muscle Bioenergetic Health and Function in People Living with HIV: Association with Glucose Tolerance and Alcohol Use,” American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (2021). Dr. Ferguson has officially mentored or advised over 50 students, and views teaching as an opportunity to explore new information and share her passion for knowledge and discovery with students. Earlier this year she was awarded an American Heart Association Women STEM Award and membership in Delta Omega – Alpha Psi Chapter, the honorary society in public health. In addition to her many other leadership roles, Dr. Ferguson serves as the chair of the American College of Epidemiology Education Committee.