Ferguson's research focuses on conducting observations of
stars and
interstellar gas in nearby galaxies to gain insights into the formation and evolution of systems in the
Milky Way. Much of her recent work has focused on the
Andromeda Galaxy, a giant spiral galaxy in our galactic neighbourhood. Her research exploits ground-based
telescopes in the
Canary Islands,
Chile, and
Hawaii as well as sophisticated instruments on board the
Hubble Space Telescope. Ferguson is also involved in planning for future exploitation of data collected by the
European Space Agency's
Euclid mission, and the
Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is currently under construction in Chile. Originally from
Scotland, Ferguson graduated with a
BSc with Distinction in
Physics and Astronomy from the
University of Toronto, and obtained a
PhD in
Astrophysics from the
Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore. She has previously held postdoctoral fellowships at the
Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, the
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in
Groningen,
Netherlands, and was a
Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik in
Garching,
Germany. Ferguson returned to Scotland in 2005, taking up a Lectureship at
The University of Edinburgh, before being promoted to a Readership in 2007, and a Professorship in 2013. == Honours ==