Mike Ferguson obtained a PhD in Biochemistry at London University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rockefeller University and Oxford. He took up a lectureship at The University of Dundee in 1988 and was promoted to a personal chair in Molecular Parasitology in 1994 and to the first Regius Chair of Life Sciences in 2013.

Mike is known for solving the first structures of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchors, which play important roles throughout eukaryotic biology.

His research takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the biochemistry of protozoan parasites. He believes in the fundamental importance of working across the Biology / Chemistry interface and is particularly interested in translational research. Together with his colleagues, he was instrumental in establishing the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee. He is also co-Director of the Dundee Proteomics Facility and co-lead on the Growing the Tay Cities BioMedical Cluster component of the Tay Cities Deal.