Overview
Background
Professor Kevin Thomas is an internationally recognised environmental health scientist and Director of the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland. He leads cutting-edge research aimed at understanding how environmental contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) affect both ecosystems and human health, with a strong focus on translating science into real-world protection and policy impact. He also leads the Minderoo Centre– Plastics and Human Health at UQ and serves as QLD Node Leader and Deputy Director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTech), where he helps drive innovation in advanced chemical analysis and environmental monitoring. Kevin’s research sits at the intersection of environmental chemistry, analytical science, and environmental health. He is particularly known for his work on human exposure to plastic pollution, developing state-of-the-art mass spectrometric methods to detect and characterise plastics and other emerging contaminants. His work is also reshaping how population health is studied through wastewater-based epidemiology, providing a powerful lens into community-wide exposure and health trends. Beyond traditional sampling methods, Kevin is pioneering novel exposure monitoring approaches—including the use of explanted silicone prostheses and wearable wristbands—to better understand how contaminants interact with the human body in everyday life. Through this work, he is helping redefine how environmental exposure is measured and understood, bridging advanced analytical chemistry with urgent global health challenges.
Availability
- Professor Kevin Thomas is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Plymouth University
- Doctoral Diploma of Science (Advanced), Plymouth University
Works
Search Professor Kevin Thomas’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
An assessment of quality assurance/quality control efforts in high resolution mass spectrometry non-target workflows for analysis of environmental samples
Schulze, Bastian, Jeon, Youngjoon, Kaserzon, Sarit, Heffernan, Amy L., Dewapriya, Pradeep, O'Brien, Jake, Gomez Ramos, Maria Jose, Ghorbani Gorji, Sara, Mueller, Jochen F., Thomas, Kevin V. and Samanipour, Saer (2020). An assessment of quality assurance/quality control efforts in high resolution mass spectrometry non-target workflows for analysis of environmental samples. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 133 116063, 116063. doi: 10.1016/j.trac.2020.116063
2020
Journal Article
Response to comment on “Quantitative analysis of selected plastics in high-commercial-value Australian seafood by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry”
Ribeiro, Francisca, Okoffo, Elvis D., O’Brien, Jake W., Fraissinet-Tachet, Sarah, O’Brien, Stacey, Gallen, Michael, Samanipour, Saer, Kaserzon, Sarit, Mueller, Jochen F., Galloway, Tamara and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). Response to comment on “Quantitative analysis of selected plastics in high-commercial-value Australian seafood by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry”. Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (23), 15556-15557. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c07097
2020
Journal Article
The first environmental assessment of hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine and co-occurring cyclic amines in Australian waterways
Rauert, Cassandra, Kaserzon, Sarit L., Veal, Cameron, Yeh, Ruby Y., Mueller, Jochen F. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). The first environmental assessment of hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine and co-occurring cyclic amines in Australian waterways. Science of the Total Environment, 743 140834, 140834. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140834
2020
Journal Article
Determination of anabasine, anatabine, and nicotine biomarkers in wastewater by enhanced direct injection LC-MS/MS and evaluation of their in-sewer stability
Zheng, Qiuda, Eaglesham, Geoff, Tscharke, Benjamin J., O'Brien, Jake W., Li, Jiaying, Thompson, Jack, Shimko, Katja M., Reeks, Tim, Gerber, Cobus, Thomas, Kevin V. and Thai, Phong K. (2020). Determination of anabasine, anatabine, and nicotine biomarkers in wastewater by enhanced direct injection LC-MS/MS and evaluation of their in-sewer stability. Science of The Total Environment, 743 140551, 140551. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140551
2020
Journal Article
Comparison of virus concentration methods for the RT-qPCR-based recovery of murine hepatitis virus, a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 from untreated wastewater
Ahmed, Warish, Bertsch, Paul M., Bivins, Aaron, Bibby, Kyle, Farkas, Kata, Gathercole, Amy, Haramoto, Eiji, Gyawali, Pradip, Korajkic, Asja, McMinn, Brian R., Mueller, Jochen F., Simpson, Stuart L., Smith, Wendy J.M., Symonds, Erin M., Thomas, Kevin V., Verhagen, Rory and Kitajima, Masaaki (2020). Comparison of virus concentration methods for the RT-qPCR-based recovery of murine hepatitis virus, a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 from untreated wastewater. Science of the Total Environment, 739 139960, 139960. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139960
2020
Journal Article
In vitro biotransformation and evaluation of potential transformation products of chlorinated paraffins by high resolution accurate mass spectrometry
He, Chang, van Mourik, Louise, Tang, Shaoyu, Thai, Phong, Wang, Xianyu, Brandsma, Sicco H., Leonards, Pim E.G., Thomas, Kevin V. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2020). In vitro biotransformation and evaluation of potential transformation products of chlorinated paraffins by high resolution accurate mass spectrometry. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 405 124245, 124245. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124245
2020
Journal Article
Road de-icing salt: Assessment of a potential new source and pathway of microplastics particles from roads
Rødland, Elisabeth S., Okoffo, Elvis D., Rauert, Cassandra, Heier, Lene S., Lind, Ole Christian, Reid, Malcolm, Thomas, Kevin V. and Meland, Sondre (2020). Road de-icing salt: Assessment of a potential new source and pathway of microplastics particles from roads. Science of the Total Environment, 738 139352, 139352. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139352
2020
Journal Article
Correction to Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Ribeiro, Francisca, Okoffo, Elvis D., O’Brien, Jake W., Fraissinet-Tachet, Sarah, O’Brien, Stacey, Gallen, Michael, Samanipour, Saer, Kaserzon, Sarit, Mueller, Jochen F., Galloway, Tamara and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). Correction to Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Environmental Science & Technology, 54 (20), 13364-13364. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c05885
2020
Journal Article
National wastewater reconnaissance of artificial sweetener consumption and emission in Australia
Li, Dandan, O'Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Choi, Phil M., Zheng, Qiuda, Ahmed, Fahad, Thompson, Jack, Li, Jiaying, Mueller, Jochen F., Sun, Hongwen and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). National wastewater reconnaissance of artificial sweetener consumption and emission in Australia. Environment International, 143 105963, 105963. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105963
2020
Journal Article
Time-integrative passive sampling of very hydrophilic chemicals in wastewater influent
Verhagen, Rory, Kaserzon, Sarit L., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Shukla, Pradeep, Clokey, Joseph, Vrana, Branislav, Thomas, Kevin V. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2020). Time-integrative passive sampling of very hydrophilic chemicals in wastewater influent. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 7 (11) acs.estlett.0c00685, 848-853. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00685
2020
Journal Article
Corrigendum to “Enantiomeric profiling of quinolones and quinolones resistance gene qnrS in European wastewaters” [Water Res. 175 (2020) 115653] (Water Research (2020) 175, (S0043135420301895), (10.1016/j.watres.2020.115653))
Castrignano, Erika, Yang, Zhugen, Feil, Edward J., Bade, Richard, Castiglioni, Sara, Causanilles, Ana, Gracia-Lor, Emma, Hernandez, Felix, Plόszi, Benedek G., Ramin, Pedram, Rousis, Nikolaos I., Ryu, Yeonsuk, Thomas, Kevin V., de Voogt, Pim, Zuccato, Ettore and Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara (2020). Corrigendum to “Enantiomeric profiling of quinolones and quinolones resistance gene qnrS in European wastewaters” [Water Res. 175 (2020) 115653] (Water Research (2020) 175, (S0043135420301895), (10.1016/j.watres.2020.115653)). Water Research, 182 116345, 116345. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116345
2020
Journal Article
Can wastewater analysis be used as a tool to assess the burden of pain treatment within a population?
Ahmed, Fahad, Tscharke, Benjamin, O'Brien, Jake W., Cabot, Peter J., Hall, Wayne D., Mueller, Jochen F. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). Can wastewater analysis be used as a tool to assess the burden of pain treatment within a population?. Environmental Research, 188 109769, 109769. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109769
2020
Journal Article
Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater: methods optimisation and quality control are crucial for generating reliable public health information
Ahmed, Warish, Bivins, Aaron, Bertsch, Paul M., Bibby, Kyle, Choi, Phil M., Farkas, Kata, Gyawali, Pradip, Hamilton, Kerry A., Haramoto, Eiji, Kitajima, Masaaki, Simpson, Stuart L., Tandukar, Sarmila, Thomas, Kevin and Mueller, Jochen F. (2020). Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater: methods optimisation and quality control are crucial for generating reliable public health information. Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health, 17 100209, 100209-93. doi: 10.1016/j.coesh.2020.09.003
2020
Journal Article
Expanding exploration of dynamic microplastic surface characteristics and interactions
Burrows, Stephen D., Frustaci, Simona, Thomas, Kevin V. and Galloway, Tamara (2020). Expanding exploration of dynamic microplastic surface characteristics and interactions. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 130 115993, 115993. doi: 10.1016/j.trac.2020.115993
2020
Journal Article
Towards an efficient method for the extraction and analysis of cannabinoids in wastewater
Pandopulos, Aaron J., Bade, Richard, O'Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Mueller, Jochen F., Thomas, Kevin, White, Jason M. and Gerber, Cobus (2020). Towards an efficient method for the extraction and analysis of cannabinoids in wastewater. Talanta, 217 121034, 121034. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121034
2020
Journal Article
Determining changes in new psychoactive substance use in Australia by wastewater analysis
Bade, Richard, White, Jason M., Nguyen, Lynn, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Mueller, Jochen F., O'Brien, Jake W., Thomas, Kevin V. and Gerber, Cobus (2020). Determining changes in new psychoactive substance use in Australia by wastewater analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 731 139209, 139209. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139209
2020
Journal Article
First confirmed detection of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater in Australia: a proof of concept for the wastewater surveillance of COVID-19 in the community
Ahmed, Warish, Angel, Nicola, Edson, Janette, Bibby, Kyle, Bivins, Aaron, O'Brien, Jake W., Choi, Phil M., Kitajima, Masaaki, Simpson, Stuart L., Li, Jiaying, Tscharke, Ben, Verhagen, Rory, Smith, Wendy J.M., Zaugg, Julian, Dierens, Leanne, Hugenholtz, Philip, Thomas, Kevin V. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2020). First confirmed detection of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater in Australia: a proof of concept for the wastewater surveillance of COVID-19 in the community. Science of the Total Environment, 728 138764, 138764. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138764
2020
Journal Article
Urinary concentrations of bisphenols in the Australian population and their association with the per capita mass loads in wastewater
Tang, Shaoyu, He, Chang, Thai, Phong K., Heffernan, Amy, Vijayasarathy, Soumini, Toms, Leisa, Thompson, Kristie, Hobson, Peter, Tscharke, Benjamin J., O’Brien, Jake W., Thomas, Kevin V. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2020). Urinary concentrations of bisphenols in the Australian population and their association with the per capita mass loads in wastewater. Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (16) acs.est.0c00921, 10141-10148. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00921
2020
Journal Article
Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Ribeiro, Francisca, Okoffo, Elvis D., O'Brien, Jake W., Fraissinet-Tachet, Sarah, O'Brien, Stacey, Gallen, Michael, Samanipour, Saer, Kaserzon, Sarit, Mueller, Jochen F., Galloway, Tamara and Thomas, Kevin V. (2020). Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Environmental Science & Technology, 54 (15) acs.est.0c02337, 9408-9417. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c02337
2020
Journal Article
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in commercial passenger aircraft and cruise ship wastewater: a surveillance tool for assessing the presence of COVID-19 infected travelers
Ahmed, Warish, Bertsch, Paul M., Angel, Nicola, Bibby, Kyle, Bivins, Aaron, Dierens, Leanne, Edson, Janette, Ehret, John, Gyawali, Pradip, Hamilton, Kerry, Hosegood, Ian, Hugenholtz, Philip, Jiang, Guangming, Kitajima, Masaaki, Sichani, Homa T., Shi, Jiahua, Shimko, Katja M., Simpson, Stuart L., Smith, Wendy J. M., Symonds, Erin M., Thomas, Kevin V., Verhagen, Rory, Zaugg, Julian and Mueller, Jochen F (2020). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in commercial passenger aircraft and cruise ship wastewater: a surveillance tool for assessing the presence of COVID-19 infected travelers. Journal of Travel Medicine, 27 (5) taaa116, 1-11. doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa116
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Kevin Thomas is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Deciphering known and unknown chemical drivers of antimicrobial resistance in environmental mixtures
Quantify known AMR-selective chemicals in complex samples, use iceberg modelling to estimate unknown drivers, and isolate unknown AMR-selective compounds via bioassay-directed fractionation for structural characterisation by high resolution mass spectrometry.
-
Available projects for prospective PhD students
Projects are available around four broad themes.
- Identifying chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance.
- 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
-
Doctor Philosophy
PM2.5 and plastics pollution in Delhi: Sources, characterization and atmospheric transport modeling
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing microplastic inputs from ships
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Cross regional comparison of emerging contaminants in urban catchments
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding emerging contaminants and metabolomic responses in Australian seabird species
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon, Dr Fisher Wang
-
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing dietary exposure to nanoplastics and microplastics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Road to Contamination: Understanding the Environmental Distribution of Tyre Wear Particles and Tyre Associated Chemicals in Australian Urban Environments
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
AMR in food producing environments (Ref: 5529)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien
-
Doctor Philosophy
Human exposure and accumulation of plastics
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Specialised Hyphenated Methodologies for Quantifying New Halogenated Plastic Materials
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Human exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides and methods to reduce exposure
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Fisher Wang, Professor Bhagirath Chauhan, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
Doctor Philosophy
The suitability of wastewater-based epidemiology for AMR surveillance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien
-
Doctor Philosophy
DETERMINATION OF MICRO AND NANOPLASTICS IN BREAST MILK, BLOOD AND MECONIUM SAMPLES FROM MOTHERS-INFANTS IN AUSTRALIA
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Characterisation and Quantification of Nanoplastics in the Environment Using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigation of the inflammatory response of human cells to silica dust exposure
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jianhua Guo, Dr Jake O'Brien
-
Doctor Philosophy
Human exposure and fate of micro/nanoplastics
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Taskeen Janjua Khan, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Non-Targeted High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Highly Mobile and Highly Persistent Chemicals
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert, Dr Jake O'Brien
-
Doctor Philosophy
Emerging contaminants in Food Contact Materials, analysis policy and regulation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Fisher Wang, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
Completed supervision
-
2026
Doctor Philosophy
Microplastic Pollution in Water Systems: Issues and Treatment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elvis Okoffo
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring antimicrobial resistance in Australian wastewater
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Professor Jianhua Guo
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Microplastics in the air: Working towards understanding micro plastics in the atmospheric environment, the plastic exposome and human respiratory exposure
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Fisher Wang, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Antibiotics and other chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance in Australian wastewater
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Advancing the non-target identification of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental samples
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ian Wood, Dr Jake O'Brien, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating the suitability of wastewater analysis for the detection and monitoring of performance- and image-enhancing drug use
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Ben Tscharke
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Assessment of plastic contamination in marine organisms
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Assessment of analgesic consumption and the burden of treated pain in Australia using wastewater-based epidemiology
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Ben Tscharke
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
An assessment of plastic residues in Australian biosolids
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Ben Tscharke
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating degradation levels and their potential impact on the quantification of microplastics in the environment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Andrew Whittaker, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon, Dr Elvis Okoffo
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Fate and behaviour of neonicotinoids in Australian aquatic environments
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Estimating use of nicotine containing products and evaluating tobacco-related health risks through wastewater analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Ben Tscharke, Associate Professor Phong Thai
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Improved monitoring of hydrophilic aquatic contaminants.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation and Implementation of Methods to increase Comprehensiveness of Non-Target Analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Innovative sampling strategies for improved wastewater-based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon, Dr Ben Tscharke
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
An assessment of alcohol and tobacco consumption by wastewater-based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Ben Tscharke, Associate Professor Phong Thai
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Firefighters' exposure to potentially toxic combustion products.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Fisher Wang, Professor Jochen Mueller
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Population diet and stress estimates using wastewater based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Professor Jochen Mueller
-
Doctor Philosophy
Microplastic pollution: From nanoscale surface interactions to public perceptions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Kevin Thomas directly for media enquiries about:
- Aquatic pollution
- chemical pollution
- Illicit drug monitoring in wastewater
- Microplastics
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