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Kathleen C. Thomas Receives 2017 Banks Award for Mentoring

Posted November 16th, 2017 by

Kathleen C. Thomas, PhD, MPH, was awarded the 2017 Steven M. Banks Award from the Mental Health Section of the American Public Health Association in recognition of outstanding mentoring and sponsorship of diverse mental health services researchers.

Dr. Thomas is a Senior Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Associate Director of an AHRQ-funded training program in health services research at the Sheps Center and also serves as faculty on the Sheps Center’s post-doctoral mental health services research training program funded by the NIMH.

For the past 17 years, Dr. Thomas has served as principal investigator for PCORI, AHRQ, HRSA, CMS and RWJF funded projects. Her research focuses on examining the impact of policies and interventions to improve access to care for underserved populations with mental health needs, ranging from minority populations to people with disabilities and autism. Her work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and The Guardian.

She currently serves on the APHA Intersectional Council Steering Committee, and has served as Section Chair, Program Chair and Council Member for the APHA Mental Health Section. She serves as chair and ad hoc reviewer for PCORI and HRSA study sections, as well as expert reviewer for a number of journals including Psychiatric Services and Pediatrics.

Dr. Thomas is recipient of the 2016 John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the 2008 Mental Health Section Award from the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Thomas received her undergraduate degree in classical languages from Pomona College. She holds an MPH from Yale and a PhD in health economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.