Jodi Thomas

Background

About Jodi Thomas

I am a postdoctoral research officer in the Brain and Mental Health Program at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. My current research focuses on identifying and understanding genetic and environmental influences, and their interplay, on brain health with a particular focus on depression. Broadly, my research centers on the intersection of neuroscience, behaviour and genetics and I have a particular interest in sex differences as well as the impacts of climate change. My work centres around using genotype, phenotype and environmental data from large cohort datasets. I particularly enjoy bioinformatics, statistical analysis, science communication and teaching/mentoring students. In 2018, I received a highly competitive research scholarship from James Cook University, where I moved to commence a PhD. Here, I investigated the neurobiological and behavioural effects of climate change on a squid, in collaboration with the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology (Japan). My PhD research included live animal experimentation, carbonate chemistry, molecular laboratory work, bioinformatics using RNA-sequencing and long-read PacBio ISO-sequencing data and statistical analyses in frequentist and bayesian frameworks. My background is in Neuroscience and Zoology, graduating as the most outstanding student in the Sciences Division from the University of Otago (New Zealand) with a BSc in Neuroscience and Zoology. In the following year I completed a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience with the highest level of overall attainment in Neuroscience at the University of Otago. My honours research, and following work as a research assistant, investigated the neuroendocrine regulatory and molecular mechanisms underlying socially-induced female to male sex change in fish.