His research focuses on using electroencephalography (particularly event-related potentials) and neuroimaging to explore the neural basis of schizophrenia. Thomas completed his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2007 and was awarded an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (CJ Martin) in 2008. He completed postdoctoral research positions at Harvard University (2008-2010) and the University of Melbourne (2010-2011) before joining UNSW in 2012. In 2011, Thomas received the “Barbara and John Streicker” Young Investigator Award from the NARSAD Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. In 2014 he received a Career Development Fellowship from the NHMRC, and the Young-Tall Poppy Science Award from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science. In 2015 he was awarded the Australian Psychological Society (Sydney Branch) Outstanding Lecturer of the Year Award.