Ryan E. Ferguson, DSc

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Ryan Ferguson is Director of the Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is responsible for the planning, execution and analysis of large scale clinical trials within a 187 person research enterprise funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Center (the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center) provides the Department with expertise in large scale clinical trials, epidemiological studies, biobanking and biomedical informatics. Among his current portfolio is the Point of Care Research Program. This national project uses innovative health informatics to embed clinical research in the clinical care system in order to create a 'learning healthcare system'.

The majority of clinical trials conducted by the program are Phase III-IV IND/IDE regulated trials. The Center develops investigator-initiated research letters of intent into full proposals. The process involves a series of planning meetings with national and international content experts and culminates with a mature protocol including study design, data collection forms, statistical analysis plans and monitoring procedures. Protocols are then defended through a peer-reviewed process. After approval, the Center executes the trials using recruitment sites at clinical centers across the country (VA and non-VA) . International collaborations with Canada and Australia are currently being successfully executed. The studies range from hundreds to thousands of participants at up to 40 recruitment sites and run from 2 - 7 years in duration. The clinical trials have been developed in many content areas including pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, alcoholism, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and oncology. The Center has published clinical trial results in prestigious medical journals and has presented results at national and international medical conferences.

During his tenure as the Center Director the Center became ISO 9001 registered as a clinical trial coordinating center, and risk-based monitoring and other innovative operational changes were implemented. In addition to his center leadership duties, Dr. Ferguson is the Principal Investigator for the VA Point of Care Program, a pragmatic trial program that embeds clinical operations into the VA EMR. He is also the Principal Investigator responsible independent epidemiologic research in chronic diseases in the veteran population.

Publications

  • Published 4/23/2025

    Leatherman SM, Beaudette-Zlatanova B, Robben G, Glassman PA, Woods P, Ferguson RE, Cushman WC, Ishani A. Provider experiences with and attitudes about an embedded pragmatic clinical trial. BMC Prim Care. 2025 Apr 23; 26(1):121. PMID: 40269774.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/2/2024

    Ishani A, Hau C, Raju S, Wise JK, Glassman PA, Taylor AA, Ferguson RE, Cushman WC, Leatherman SM. Chlorthalidone vs Hydrochlorothiazide and Kidney Outcomes in Patients With Hypertension: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Dec 02; 7(12):e2449576. PMID: 39656458.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/19/2024

    Dupuis G, Ferguson RE, Ishani A, Cushman WC, Leatherman SM. Characteristics of VA hospitals by participation status in a large pragmatic embedded clinical trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 Jan; 148:107755. PMID: 39566718.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/1/2024

    Ishani A, Hau C, Cushman WC, Leatherman SM, Lew RA, Glassman PA, Taylor AA, Ferguson RE. Chlorthalidone vs Hydrochlorothiazide for Hypertension Treatment After Myocardial Infarction or Stroke: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 01; 7(5):e2411081. PMID: 38743423.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/2/2024

    Bihn JR, Cioffi G, Waite KA, Kruchko C, Neff C, Price M, Ostrom QT, Swinnerton KN, Elbers DC, Mooney MA, Rachlin J, Stein TD, Brophy MT, Do NV, Ferguson RE, Priemer DS, Perl DP, Hickman RA, Nabors B, Rusiecki J, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Fillmore NR. Brain tumors in United States military veterans. Neuro Oncol. 2024 Feb 02; 26(2):387-396. PMID: 37738677.

    Read at: PubMed

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, DSc
  • Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst, BSc