Who is Michael Ferguson?
Dr. Michael Ferguson, PhD, is a Harvard neuroscientist, multidisciplinary scholar, and artist. He is pioneering the emerging discipline of neurospirituality: the study of spiritual traditions, practices, and experiences using applied methods from human neuroscience.
In the history of Harvard University, Dr. Ferguson is one of the few faculty members who has held simultaneous appointments at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Divinity School. He currently directs the Neurospirituality Lab at the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also coordinates Wellness Programming First-Year Students at Harvard College, a post he has held for three years.
Dr. Ferguson is a gifted teacher. He has been awarded an excellence in teaching honor from Harvard College, where he has taught semester courses titled Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation and Virtue Science, the latter of which he co-designed. He also designed and taught a graduate course on Neurospirituality at Harvard, and has led graduate directed readings on Mysticism and Neuroscience, and on the mystical writings of Teresa of Avila from a neurospirituality perspective. Dr. Ferguson is a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, and is currently developing online courses in Prayer Science and Compassion Science.
External resources
Dr. Ferguson’s academic publication history may be accessed through his Google Scholar profile. Information about the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital may found through the Center’s website. To learn more about Spiritual Therapeutics, speaking engagements, or for other inquiries, please contact the Neurospirituality Lab Media Director at morgan@neurospirituality.io.