Stephen Thomas
Director, Upstate Global Health Institute
Dr. Stephen Thomasis an Infectious Diseases physician-scientist from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, USA. He is a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology. Dr. Thomas currently directs the Upstate Global Health Institute and is the Frank E. Young, MD '56 and Leanne Young Endowed Chair of Microbiology & Immunology. Dr. Thomas earned his Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University, his Medical Degree from Albany Medical College, and completed his Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Capital Consortium. Prior to joining Upstate, Dr. Thomas served in the U.S. Army at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and completed his career as the institute's Deputy Commander for Operations. He also served as the Infectious Diseases Consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. Dr. Thomas specializes in the study of infectious diseases with a focus on diseases caused by viruses. He spent more than five years of his early military career living and working in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Dr. Thomas played key leadership roles in the U.S. government response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak (2014-2016) and advised senior government leaders during the planning and execution of the Obama Administration's Operation United Assistance. He represented the Department of Defense in the U.S. government response to the MERS-CoV and Zika epidemics. Dr. Thomas served as the global coordinating principal investigator for the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID vaccine efficacy trial. Dr. Thomas serves on numerous advisory boards for the US government, non-governmental organizations such as the WHO and CEPI, and industry. He is a contributor to Forbes magazine and entrepreneur, co-founding start-ups in life sciences consulting, biotech, and digital marketplaces.