Professor Kevin Thomas
Professor

Kevin Thomas

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 344 32443

Background

Professor Kevin Thomas is Director of the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS). Kevin is an environmental health scientist with a particular interest in understanding the environmental exposures associated with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) with the goal of protecting environmental and human health. Kevin also leads the Minderoo Centre- Plastics and Human Health at UQ and is Deputy-Director of the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTech).

His current research is focused on understanding human exposure to plastics pollution and developing mass spectrometric analytical methods for characterizing plastics and other CECs, assessing community-wide health status through analysing wastewater (wastewater-based epidemiology) and establishing alternative approaches to exposure monitoring, for example explanted silicone prostheses and wristbands.

Author of over 300 peer-reviewed papers and Associate Editor for the journal Science of the Total Environment, Kevin is a strong collaborative researcher having founded the international SCORE network on sewer biomarker analysis for community health assessment (see www.score-network.eu) and together with colleagues has recently launched InSpectra- A platform for identifying emerging chemical threats.

Availability

Professor Kevin Thomas is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry not elsewhere classified Analytical spectrometry Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Chemical Sciences Environmental Sciences Health Sciences

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Plymouth University
  • Doctoral Diploma of Science (Advanced), Plymouth University

Search Professor Kevin Thomas’s works on UQ eSpace

387 works between 1995 and 2025
All (387) Journal Article (347) Book Chapter (10) Conference Publication (25) Other Outputs (5)

101 - 120 of 387 works

2022

Journal Article

Naive Bayes classification model for isotopologue detection in LC-HRMS data

van Herwerden, Denice, O'Brien, Jake W., Choi, Phil M., Thomas, Kevin V., Schoenmakers, Peter J. and Samanipour, Saer (2022). Naive Bayes classification model for isotopologue detection in LC-HRMS data. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 223 104515, 104515. doi: 10.1016/j.chemolab.2022.104515

Naive Bayes classification model for isotopologue detection in LC-HRMS data

2022

Journal Article

Concentrations of tire additive chemicals and tire road wear particles in an Australian urban tributary

Rauert, Cassandra, Charlton, Nathan, Okoffo, Elvis D., Stanton, Ryan S., Agua, Alon R., Pirrung, Michael C. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2022). Concentrations of tire additive chemicals and tire road wear particles in an Australian urban tributary. Environmental Science and Technology, 56 (4), 2421-2431. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c07451

Concentrations of tire additive chemicals and tire road wear particles in an Australian urban tributary

2022

Journal Article

In-sewer stability assessment of anabolic steroids and selective androgen receptor modulators

Shimko, Katja M., O’Brien, Jake W., Li, Jiaying, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Brooker, Lance, Thai, Phong K., Choi, Phil M., Samanipour, Saer and Thomas, Kevin V. (2022). In-sewer stability assessment of anabolic steroids and selective androgen receptor modulators. Environmental Science and Technology, 56 (3) acs.est.1c03047, 1627-1638. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c03047

In-sewer stability assessment of anabolic steroids and selective androgen receptor modulators

2022

Journal Article

Minimizing errors in RT-PCR detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for wastewater surveillance

Ahmed, Warish, Simpson, Stuart L., Bertsch, Paul M., Bibby, Kyle, Bivins, Aaron, Blackall, Linda L., Bofill-Mas, Sílvia, Bosch, Albert, Brandão, João, Choi, Phil M., Ciesielski, Mark, Donner, Erica, D'Souza, Nishita, Farnleitner, Andreas H., Gerrity, Daniel, Gonzalez, Raul, Griffith, John F., Gyawali, Pradip, Haas, Charles N., Hamilton, Kerry A., Hapuarachchi, Hapuarachchige Chanditha, Harwood, Valerie J., Haque, Rehnuma, Jackson, Greg, Khan, Stuart J., Khan, Wesaal, Kitajima, Masaaki, Korajkic, Asja, La Rosa, Giuseppina ... Shanks, Orin C. (2022). Minimizing errors in RT-PCR detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for wastewater surveillance. Science of the Total Environment, 805 149877, 149877. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149877

Minimizing errors in RT-PCR detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for wastewater surveillance

2022

Journal Article

Extraction and pyrolysis-GC-MS analysis of polyethylene in samples with medium to high lipid content

Rauert, Cassandra, Pan, Yufei, Okoffo, Elvis D., O’Brien, Jake W. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2022). Extraction and pyrolysis-GC-MS analysis of polyethylene in samples with medium to high lipid content. Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment, 1 (2) 13, 13. doi: 10.20517/jeea.2022.04

Extraction and pyrolysis-GC-MS analysis of polyethylene in samples with medium to high lipid content

2022

Journal Article

Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for COVID-19 infection on board repatriation flights to Australia

Ahmed, Warish, Bivins, Aaron, Simpson, Stuart L., Bertsch, Paul M., Ehret, John, Hosegood, Ian, Metcalfe, Suzanne S., Smith, Wendy J.M., Thomas, Kevin V., Tynan, Josh and Mueller, Jochen F. (2022). Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for COVID-19 infection on board repatriation flights to Australia. Environment International, 158 106938, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106938

Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for COVID-19 infection on board repatriation flights to Australia

2022

Journal Article

A wastewater‐based assessment of the impact of a minimum unit price on population alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory, Australia

O’Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Bade, Richard, Chan, Gary, Gerber, Cobus, Mueller, Jochen F., Thomas, Kevin V. and Hall, Wayne D. (2022). A wastewater‐based assessment of the impact of a minimum unit price on population alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory, Australia. Addiction, 117 (1), 243-249. doi: 10.1111/add.15631

A wastewater‐based assessment of the impact of a minimum unit price on population alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory, Australia

2021

Journal Article

Understanding the plastics cycle to minimize exposure

Thomas, Kevin V. (2021). Understanding the plastics cycle to minimize exposure. Nature Sustainability, 5 (4), 282-284. doi: 10.1038/s41893-021-00814-3

Understanding the plastics cycle to minimize exposure

2021

Journal Article

From centroided to profile mode: machine learning for prediction of peak width in HRMS data

Samanipour, Saer, Choi, Phil, O’Brien, Jake W., Pirok, Bob W. J., Reid, Malcolm J. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2021). From centroided to profile mode: machine learning for prediction of peak width in HRMS data. Analytical Chemistry, 93 (49), 16562-16570. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03755

From centroided to profile mode: machine learning for prediction of peak width in HRMS data

2021

Journal Article

Assessment of environmental pollution and human exposure to pesticides by wastewater analysis in a seven-year study in athens, greece

Rousis, Nikolaos I., Denardou, Maria, Alygizakis, Nikiforos, Galani, Aikaterini, Bletsou, Anna A., Damalas, Dimitrios E., Maragou, Niki C., Thomas, Kevin V. and Thomaidis, Nikolaos S. (2021). Assessment of environmental pollution and human exposure to pesticides by wastewater analysis in a seven-year study in athens, greece. Toxics, 9 (10) 260, 260. doi: 10.3390/toxics9100260

Assessment of environmental pollution and human exposure to pesticides by wastewater analysis in a seven-year study in athens, greece

2021

Journal Article

Performance- and image-enhancing drug use in the community: use prevalence, user demographics and the potential role of wastewater-based epidemiology

Shimko, Katja M., Piatkowski, Timothy, Thomas, Kevin V., Speers, Naomi, Brooker, Lance, Tscharke, Ben J. and O’Brien, Jake W. (2021). Performance- and image-enhancing drug use in the community: use prevalence, user demographics and the potential role of wastewater-based epidemiology. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 419 126340, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126340

Performance- and image-enhancing drug use in the community: use prevalence, user demographics and the potential role of wastewater-based epidemiology

2021

Journal Article

Current and future perspectives for wastewater-based epidemiology as a monitoring tool for pharmaceutical use

Boogaerts, Tim, Ahmed, Fahad, Choi, Phil.M, Tscharke, Benjamin, O'Brien, Jake, De Loof, Hans, Gao, Jianfa, Thai, Phong, Thomas, Kevin, Mueller, Jochen F., Hall, Wayne, Covaci, Adrian and van Nuijs, Alexander L.N. (2021). Current and future perspectives for wastewater-based epidemiology as a monitoring tool for pharmaceutical use. Science of the Total Environment, 789 148047, 148047. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148047

Current and future perspectives for wastewater-based epidemiology as a monitoring tool for pharmaceutical use

2021

Journal Article

Multisite calibration of a microporous polyethylene tube passive sampler for quantifying drugs in wastewater

Verhagen, Rory, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Clokey, Joseph, Gerber, Cobus, Ghetia, Maulik, Kaserzon, Sarit L., Thomas, Kevin V. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2021). Multisite calibration of a microporous polyethylene tube passive sampler for quantifying drugs in wastewater. Environmental Science and Technology, 55 (19) acs.est.1c02900, 12922-12929. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02900

Multisite calibration of a microporous polyethylene tube passive sampler for quantifying drugs in wastewater

2021

Journal Article

Assessing patterns of illicit drug use in a Chinese city by analyzing daily wastewater samples over a one-year period

Zheng, Qiuda, Ren, Yuan, Wang, Zhe, Liu, Jinhua, Zhang, Yu, Lin, Wenting, Gao, Jianfa, Thomas, Kevin V. and Thai, Phong K. (2021). Assessing patterns of illicit drug use in a Chinese city by analyzing daily wastewater samples over a one-year period. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 417 125999, 125999. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125999

Assessing patterns of illicit drug use in a Chinese city by analyzing daily wastewater samples over a one-year period

2021

Journal Article

In-sewer stability of selected analgesics and their metabolites

Ahmed, Fahad, Li, Jiaying, O'Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Samanipour, Saer, Thai, Phong K., Yuan, Zhiguo, Mueller, Jochen F. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2021). In-sewer stability of selected analgesics and their metabolites. Water Research, 204 117647, 117647. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117647

In-sewer stability of selected analgesics and their metabolites

2021

Journal Article

Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust

O’Brien, Stacey, Okoffo, Elvis Dartey, Rauert, Cassandra, O’Brien, Jake W., Ribeiro, Francisca, Burrows, Stephen D., Toapanta, Tania, Wang, Xianyu and Thomas, Kevin V. (2021). Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 416 125811, 125811. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125811

Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust

2021

Journal Article

Impact of COVID-19 controls on the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in Australia

Bade, Richard, Tscharke, Benjamin J., O’Brien, Jake W., Magsarjav, Saranzaya, Humphries, Melissa, Ghetia, Maulik, Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F., White, Jason M. and Gerber, Cobus (2021). Impact of COVID-19 controls on the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in Australia. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 8 (9), 799-804. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00532

Impact of COVID-19 controls on the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in Australia

2021

Conference Publication

A global emerging contaminant early warning exercise through the use of retrospective suspect screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry

Dewapriya, Pradeep, Jeon, Youngjoon, Feraud, Mathieu, O'Brien, Jake, Gorji, Sara Ghorbani, Samanipour, Saer, Kaserzon, Sarit and Thomas, Kevin (2021). A global emerging contaminant early warning exercise through the use of retrospective suspect screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia Conference, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 3 August-2 September 2021.

A global emerging contaminant early warning exercise through the use of retrospective suspect screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry

2021

Journal Article

Plastics contamination in archived biosolids from 1950 to 2016

Okoffo, Elvis D., Donner, Erica, McGrath, Steve P., Tscharke, Benjamin J., O'Brien, Jake W., O'Brien, Stacey, Ribeiro, Francisca, Burrows, Stephen D., Toapanta, Tania, Rauert, Cassandra, Samanipour, Saer, Mueller, Jochen F. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2021). Plastics contamination in archived biosolids from 1950 to 2016. Water Research, 201 117367, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117367

Plastics contamination in archived biosolids from 1950 to 2016

2021

Journal Article

Phthalate diversity in eggs and associations with oxidative stress in the European herring gull (Larus argentatus)

Allen, Simon F., Ellis, Francesca, Mitchell, Christopher, Wang, Xianyu, Boogert, Neeltje J., Lin, Chun-Yin, Clokey, Joseph, Thomas, Kevin V. and Blount, Jonathan D. (2021). Phthalate diversity in eggs and associations with oxidative stress in the European herring gull (Larus argentatus). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 169 112564, 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112564

Phthalate diversity in eggs and associations with oxidative stress in the European herring gull (Larus argentatus)

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    Chemical Analyses of National Passive Air Samples
    DCCEEW - Approach to Market
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Analysing Clothing Textiles on the Australian Market for Chemicals of Concern
    DCCEEW - Approach to Market
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
    Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (ARC ITRP administered by the University of Tasmania)
    University of Tasmania
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences
    Queensland Health
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    Identification of chemical and biological determinants, their sources, and strategies to promote healthier homes in Europe (INQUIRE)
    NHMRC European Union Collaborative Research Grants
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    Improving indoor air quality and health: Identification of chemical and biological determinants, their sources, and strategies to promote healthier homes in Europe - INQUIRE (EU RIA led by NILU)
    Norwegian Institute for Air Research
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    ARC Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites
    ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2028
    Developing protocols to measure plastic chemicals in human brain, blood and urine
    The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2030
    Centre to develop novel mass spectrometry protocols to measure plastic chemicals in human tissue
    The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2025
    Exposure to Trihalomethanes in pregnancy and birth outcomes in Queensland: integrated data analysis and case studies for better policy and health outcomes
    NHMRC Partnership Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2024
    Microplastics in drinking water
    Minderoo Foundation Limited
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Australian Environmental Specimen Bank: advancing specimen bank capability
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Preliminary investigations relating to the role of cyanobacterial blooms in the amplification and dispersal of antimicrobial resistance
    Melbourne Water Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2021
    Quarantined ion chromatography mass spectrometry (IC-MS) facility (ARC LIEF administered by University of Tasmania)
    University of Tasmania
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    Comprehensive characterisation of the PFAS exposome
    NHMRC Targeted Research
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Estimating use of tobacco and nicotine products through wastewater analysis
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
    Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2024
    Microplastics: Long-term Effects of plastics and Additive Chemicals on marine organisms (MicroLEACH)
    Norwegian Institute for Water Research
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    A global platform for identifying emerging chemical threats
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2019
    A Gas Chromatography-High Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometry Facility
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Novel Testing Strategies for Endocrine Disruptors in the Context of Developmental Neuro Toxicity (ENDpoiNTs) (Horizon 2020 Grant administered by Karolinska Institute)
    Uppsala University
    Open grant
  • 2019
    UHPLC-QTOF-MS for research on emerging chemical pollutants including PFAS
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2020
    Identification and screening for potential human health effects of coal seam gas (CSG) activity in the southern Surat Basin, Queensland
    CSIRO
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2023
    Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences
    Queensland Health
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Exposure mapping - combining wastewater analysis with human biomonitoring
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences
    Queensland Health
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Kevin Thomas is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • Available projects for prospective PhD students

    Projects are available arounf four broad themes.

    • Assessing the environmental plastics cycle with a focus on human exposure.
    • Assessing community-wide health status through wastewater-based epidemiology.
    • Alternative matrices for exposure monitoring. For example explanted silicone prostheses and wristbands.
    • Analytical methods for the characterization of contaminants of emerging concern (target/suspect-screening/non-target analysis).

    Project specific opportunities are advertised on our centre website

  • Available projects for prospective PhD students

    Projects are available around four broad themes.

    • Assessing the environmental plastics cycle with a focus on human exposure.
    • Assessing community-wide health status through wastewater-based epidemiology.
    • Alternative matrices for exposure monitoring. For example explanted silicone prostheses and wristbands.
    • Analytical methods for the characterization of contaminants of emerging concern (target/suspect-screening/non-target analysis).

    Project specific opportunities are advertised on our centre website

  • Innovative Analytical Techniques for Detecting and Quantifying Oligomers in Environmental Matrices

    Project summary: Develop and validate advanced analytical methods for the detection, identification, and quantification of oligomers in various environmental matrices.

  • Available projects for prospective PhD students

    Projects are available around four broad themes.

    • Assessing the environmental plastics cycle with a focus on human exposure.
    • Assessing community-wide health status through wastewater-based epidemiology.
    • Alternative matrices for exposure monitoring. For example explanted silicone prostheses and wristbands.
    • Analytical methods for the characterization of contaminants of emerging concern (target/suspect-screening/non-target analysis).

    Project specific opportunities are advertised on our centre website

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Kevin Thomas directly for media enquiries about:

  • Aquatic pollution
  • chemical pollution
  • Illicit drug monitoring in wastewater
  • Microplastics

Need help?

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communications@uq.edu.au