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St. Jude Family of Websites
Explore our cutting edge research, world-class patient care, career opportunities and more.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Home
- Fundraising
Robert Ferguson, PhD
Developing and evaluating cognitive behavior therapy for cancer and chronic–disease-related cognitive impairments
Overview
Cancer and its various treatments can lead to a range of long-term alterations in function, including cognitive impairments that affectt a person’s memory, thinking and decision making. My research aims to understand how to best support patients with cancer-related cognitive impairment, or cognitive problems associated with other chronicchronic illnesses. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that helps patients identify and modify thinking and behavioral patterns to promote improvement in cognitive and emotional health and overall wellbeing. CBT’s are typically short-term (8 visits), well researched for efficacy, covered by insurance and can be delivered in-person or through telehealth
Research Summary
My research focuses on developing and testing a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) called Memory and Attention Adaptation Training (MAAT).
MAAT is used to help patients with cognitive impairment improve quality of life and overcome memory problems related to illness.
MAAT fosters adaptive behavior change, self-appraisal and emotional coping that focuses on an individual’s goals for daily functioning. At its inception, MAAT research focused on cognitive effects of breast cancer and cancer therapies. Our MAAT research has expanded to focus on young adult survivors of pediatric cancer with memory problems, and individuals with cognitive problems after transplant and cellular therapies.
In collaboration with Dr. Andrew Heitzer, I am now investigating the effectiveness of MAAT for helping people living with sickle cell disease and related problems of everyday memory.
The breadth of my clinical research has led to an increased understanding of the cognitive effects of cancer, its treatment and the subsequent impact to quality of life. By expanding this research to chronic conditions, such as sickle cell disease, my goal is to continue to define and implement behavioral approaches, such as MAAT, that support an individual’s cognition and wellbeing throughout their lifespan.
Selected Publications
About Robert Ferguson
Dr. Robert Ferguson is a licensed clinical psychologist with over two decades of experience caring for patients with cancer. His clinical experiences led to a focus on developing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for cognitive impairments related to cancer andcancer treatment. Dr. Ferguson received his PhD from Nova Southeastern University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. He was a faculty member at Dartmouth Medical School where he contributed to numerous projects related to cancer and cognition conducted within Dartmouth Cancer Center. He has also been on staff at Lafayette Family Cancer Center, Eastern Maine Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine with the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. In coming to St. Jude, Ferguson has continued his research on cancer-related cognitive impairment among adult survivors of pediatric cancers and CBT approaches for the benefit of patients with sickle cell disease.
Contact us
Robert Ferguson, PhD
Associate Member
Department of Psychology & Biobehavioral Sciences
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, TN, 38105-3678 USA GET DIRECTIONS