She earned her PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked with Dr. John Ivy in the Exercise Metabolism & Physiology Lab. She received further training as a NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota Medical School in muscle physiology and aging biology. During this time, she also taught as an adjunct instructor at the University of Saint Thomas, as well as co-instructor for research seminars in the Physical Therapy program at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Ferguson Stegall earned her MS in Exercise Science from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, where she also completed graduate work in public health approaches to activity, nutrition, and health status.