Laura Ferguson, PhD

Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and Spatial Sciences

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Overview

Laura Ferguson is an Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine. She is the Director of the Program on Global Health & Human Rights and the Director of Research at the Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. She is also on the faculty of USC Dornsife’s Spatial Sciences Institute and she is an Associate Research Professor at Amref International University in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Ferguson earned her MSc in Population and International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and her PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her work focuses on understanding and addressing health system, structural and societal factors affecting health, and developing the evidence base of how attention to human rights can improve health outcomes.

Dr. Ferguson has spent extended periods of time in low-income countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, collaborating with local partners to design and manage research and programs to tackle a broad range of issues including HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and child health.

Dr. Ferguson serves on a range of expert advisory groups to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. She is also an Associate Editor for Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters and the American Journal of Public Health.

Publications

  • One health laws, policies and governance in Uganda: What’s on paper and what’s really happening. One Health. 2026 Jun; 22:101419.. View in PubMed
  • Adoption and Implementation of California State Transgender and Nonbinary Protections in Los Angeles Area High Schools. J Sch Health. 2026 Jan; 96(1):e70100.. View in PubMed
  • Associations between Local and State Structural Stigma, Minority stress, and Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample of Sexual Minority Adolescents. Child Adolesc Social Work J. 2026; 43(3):871-881.. View in PubMed
  • Promoting More Equitable Global Health Research, Education, and Community Partnerships: The Efforts of One US‑Based Academic Institution. Ann Glob Health. 2025; 91(1):31.. View in PubMed
  • Global Health and Human Rights in AJPH. Am J Public Health. 2025 Jun; 115(6):814-815.. View in PubMed
  • Forecasting acute childhood malnutrition in Kenya using machine learning and diverse sets of indicators. PLoS One. 2025; 20(5):e0322959.. View in PubMed
  • Gender and exposure pathways to zoonotic infections in communities at the interface of wildlife conservation areas of Uganda: A qualitative study. Glob Public Health. 2025 12; 20(1):2503858.. View in PubMed
  • Experiential Learning in Global Health: Engaging with Multilateral Institutions in an Age of Rights Regression. Am J Law Med. 2024 12; 50(3-4):258-264.. View in PubMed
  • Celebrating 115 Years of AJPH: Perspectives on Public Health in a New Political Era. Am J Public Health. 2025 Mar; 115(3):301-303.. View in PubMed
  • “I Am the Minority of the Minority of the Minority, I Can’t Help Thinking About My Brothers”: An Intersectional Approach to Self-Care Strategies Developed by LGBTQIA+ Adolescents and Young People During COVID-19 Quarantine in Brazil. Qual Health Res. 2025 Feb 06; 10497323241307913.. View in PubMed