"Theory without practice is empty, and practice without theory can be misguided"
Jim Thomas, MPH, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology
Gillings School of Global Public Health
Fellow Emeritus, Carolina Population Center
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dr. Thomas brings together a unique set of skills to address this era’s most challenging public health issues. With experiences that encompass both academics and practice, he has:
Advised the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of North Carolina, and the University of North Carolina on the ethical control of pandemics.
Directed large projects to strengthen health information systems in more than 40 low- and middle-income countries.
Developed and implemented evaluations of complex systems in North Carolina, Ethiopia, Thailand and elsewhere.
Translated theory to practice by using his knowledge of complex systems to found and direct Africa Rising, and organization that strengthened African community-based organizations by networking them together.
Addressed practical public health issues in locations ranging from the Congo rainforest, to American prisons, to Hollywood film studios.
Integrated his practical experiences into the textbook Epidemiologic Methods for the Study of Infectious Diseases.
Led the writing of the first code of ethics for public health adopted by the American Public Health Association and other national organizations.
Current projects
Retired from UNC in September 2021 (now an Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology)
Researching and writing a book on unlearning colonial ways of doing good.
Teaching courses annually on global health at the École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique, Paris and Rennes.
Participating in European and Australian efforts to articulate regional public health ethics.
Land acknowledgement
My path has traveled through the lands of several indigenous people. I was raised at the south end of San Francisco Bay on the land of the Ohlone people. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I lived with the Ngbaka people on their land. While collecting data for my PhD, I lived among the Embu of Kenya. I owe to them my doctoral degree and all the doors that opened for me. I now live on the ancestral lands of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. On their land, I raised a family and pursued a career. I am indebted to each of these people, and I seek to learn their values and embody them in my life and contributions to others.
The more than 40 countries in which Dr. Thomas has worked as an epidemiologist or ethicist.
