As the Chief Professional Officer, CAPT Thomas advises the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the recruitment, assignment, deployment, retention, and career development of veterinarians in the Veterinary category

CAPT Thomas works as a Laboratory Animal Veterinarian at the Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR), Office of Research Services (ORS), Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He is currently the Chief of the Surgery Service and assists as a clinical veterinarian for several DVR facilities.

CAPT Thomas received his Bachelor of Science degree and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University, and received a Master’s degree in Comparative Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He completed a Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency with the NIH/US Army combined program and is a Board-Certified Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. After graduation, CAPT Thomas joined the US Army Veterinary Corps for four years and served as a veterinarian at bases in North Carolina, Texas and Germany. Afterwards, he worked in several private practices in the DC area before doing an interservice transfer to the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Corps) and worked at the NIH.

CAPT Thomas has been very active in Veterinary Category activities. He served for four years as a voting member on the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee (VetPAC) and was the Chair of the VetPAC as well as Chair of the Recruitment Subcommittee and the National Meetings Subcommittee. In addition, CAPT Thomas has been involved in numerous working groups for the Veterinary Category as well as for the Corps. His deployment experiences include Hurricanes Katrina/Rita, the Presidential Inauguration, Operation LoneStar and the Independence Day Celebration. He was the Supervisory Veterinarian for the Rapid Deployment Force Team - 1 for eight years and went on numerous training missions with the team.

CAPT Thomas has been the recipient of numerous awards to include the NIH ORS Value Award for Excellence in 2018, the National Capital Area Branch of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science Joseph R. Held Veterinarian of the Year Award in 2017, several NIH Office of the Director Honor Awards, the NIH ORS Service Excellence Award, the NIH Director Award and most recently the 2019 James H. Steele One Health Outstanding PHS Veterinary Career Award. He has earned the Field Medical Readiness Badge from the Corps and the Expert Field Medical Badge from the US Army.