Jeffrey Thomas, PhD

COL, USA (Ret.)
Executive Director for Center/Program Operations, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
Research Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Uniformed Services University

Dr. Jeffrey L. Thomas is currently the Executive Director of Center/Program Operations (Henry Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine) in support of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science’s (USUHS) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress(CSTS), and Adjunct Faculty Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at USUHS. In his current capacity as Executive Director of Center/Program Operations, Dr. Thomas is responsible for directing operations to maximize the effective use of program resources for the CSTS mission of science, education, consultation, and leadership—including developing and implementing operational plans and efficiencies supporting the CSTS Director and the Center’s program management, finance, and research groups.

In July of 2022, Dr. Thomas retired at the rank of Colonel in the US Army after 28 ½ years of service. Dr. Thomas was commissioned in the US Army in 1994 through ROTC at Lincoln University where he received a B.A. in Psychology. He graduated from Wayne State University on an ROTC educational delay with an M.A. (1997) and Ph.D. (1999) in Social Psychology. In Dr. Thomas’s previous assignments, he served as an Assistant Professor at the National Defense University/Eisenhower School where he taught graduate level courses in strategic leadership and biotechnology (2020-2022). Prior to his professorship at NDU, Dr. Thomas served as the Center Director (2016-2020) for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) directing behavioral health, neuroprotection, and sleep and performance research predicated on delivering evidence-based solutions to improve and optimize the health, decisiveness, and readiness of US Service Members. Previous military research assignments include as the Commander of the US Army Medical Research Unit-Europe (Germany), Department Chief of Military Psychiatry at WRAIR, and as a technical staff officer at the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Logistics, Science, and Technology. Dr. Thomas has deployed on four Mental Health Advisory Teams—twice to Iraq, once to Afghanistan and led one to Korea. He has also conducted numerous strategic research engagements with international partners in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on psychological research and support.

As a research scientist, Dr. Thomas has been cited nearly 10,000 times, publishing 80 scientific papers and book chapters ‪Jeffrey L. Thomas‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬ ; he peer-reviews for numerous scientific journals. Dr. Thomas has presented military behavioral health research at dozens of professional, military, and international conferences. From 2017-2021, Dr. Thomas served as the Research Psychology Consultant to the US Army Surgeon General and as the Assistant Corps Chief for Allied Health Sciences for the US Army Medical Service Corps from 2018-2021. He is a lifetime member of the Order of Military Medical Merit.