Dr. Ferguson specializes in the surgical management of diseases of the chest. His most active areas of surgical management include lung cancer, benign and malignant esophageal diseases, mesothelioma, and thymoma. He has broad experience in using minimally invasive techniques, and performs 80% of his operations either using VATS, robotics, or laparoscopy. He is also adept at performing traditional open operations for more complex disease.

As founding Program Director of the University of Chicago Cardiothoracic Fellowship Program, Dr. Ferguson supervises the training of cardiothoracic fellows. He has served on the boards and committees of numerous national societies and institutions including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and CTSNet.org.

Dr. Ferguson is the author of more than 100 chapters in medical textbooks. He has edited or written 8 books, and has completed 3 editions of Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery. He is the editor for Difficult Decisions in Surgery, a series of books highlighting decision making in a variety of surgical subspecialties. He has also published more than 350 papers and abstracts in medical journals. Dr. Ferguson serves as a deputy editor for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, is on the editorial board of 3 other journals, and is Editor of CTSNet.org. He serves as the Executive Director of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.

Among his research interests are risk analysis, long-term outcomes after lung resection and esophageal resection, development of simulation methods for surgical training, advanced techniques in surgical education, and factors that influence medical decision making including gender and racial/ethnic bias. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and an MD degree from The University of Chicago. His surgical training and fellowship in medical education took place at The University of Chicago.