Dr Dennis Thomas is a clinical scientist at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and the University of Newcastle (UoN), where he investigates the mechanisms and treatment of asthma.

Dr Thomas is a mid-career researcher and experienced clinical trialist with >15 years of experience in designing and managing clinical trials. He completed his pharmacy degree at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, and subsequently spent nearly five years in the pharmaceutical industry as a Clinical Research Manager.

He completed his PhD at Monash University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. During this time, he led the design and implementation of Australia’s largest telehealth-based phase 3 RCT (N=1,452), comparing cytisine and varenicline for smoking cessation.

Dr Thomas has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Respir Med, JAMA, ERJ, Cochrane Database Syst Rev, and Chest. He has completed five investigator-initiated RCTs and is currently involved in five additional trials.

He currently leads a large-scale tele-trial (N=1,200) to develop and evaluate a national digital asthma care program in collaboration with Asthma Australia. His research has advanced the concept of remission in severe asthma, demonstrating that remission can be achieved using biologic therapies and azithromycin.

Dr Thomas has secured $7.5 million in competitive funding as a Chief Investigator and $6 million as an Associate Investigator, in addition to over $2 million in other competitive research grants. He has received >15 awards.