Dr Kai Thomas

(he/him)

BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Research Interests

My primary research interests are in the development of mental health difficulties and how we can promote wellbeing and resilience in children, adolescents, and adults.

My PhD research focused on the relationship between children’s mental health and their cognitive, emotional, and neural functioning. Primarily, this was centred around eating behaviours, anxiety, and mood, which I have also previously explored in undergraduate populations. By increasing our understanding of why and how these difficulties develop, we are better able to establish new evidence-based treatment and intervention options. I used a variety of methods in my research, such as neurocognitive tasks, electroencephalography, social/behavioural tasks, and questionnaires. As part of my PhD, I gained extensive experience in engaging with primary schools to recruit and conduct testing sessions with children. I also recruited and collected data from individual families from the community in the laboratory and online.

My current research interests are focused on eating disorders, problematic eating behaviours, and concerns around body shape and weight in diverse populations. For example, both autistic and gender-diverse people are reported to be at higher risk of developing eating disorders compared to the typical cisgender population (Diemer et al., 2015; Westwood et al., 2017; Young et al., 2022). However, very little is known about these behaviours and concerns in people who identify as both gender-diverse and autistic. This highlights an important area of investigation as the intersection of both identities could result in a higher risk of negative outcomes, due to the additive effects of difficulties associated with identifying as both gender-diverse and autistic (George & Stokes, 2018). This research could ultimately help inform more targeted support for gender-diverse and autistic people who experience difficulties with eating behaviours and body shape and weight concerns.

Ongoing projects

During the summer of 2023, I conducted stakeholder consultations with 6 autistic and/or gender diverse people with eating disorders, as well as 5 clinicians working across the Cardiff and the Vale Eating Disorder Service, Integrated Autism Service, and Welsh Gender Service. We discussed the intersections of eating disorders, gender diversity, and neurodivergence, and research priorities in this area. Avalon Ross, a researcher volunteering with me, has designed an infographic to present the shared and unique themes identified by people with lived experience and clinicians (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Infographic displaying consultation findings.

Alongside my final year project students and MSc students, we are currently recruiting for a new study to understand more about how neurodivergent traits are associated with eating behaviours in trans and gender diverse people in the UK. To find out more about the project and participate, please follow click here or use the QR code in the advert below.

Funding

Paine, A. L., Martin, F., Birdsey, N., & Thomas, K. (2023-2024). Supporting the Wellbeing of Children in Hospital with Humorous Play. UKRI Harmonised Impact Accelerator Award (Co-I).

Thomas, K. S., Cooper, K., & Jones, C. R. G. (2023). The intersection of autistic and gender diverse identities in eating disorders: stakeholder engagement. Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account: Rapid Response Fund (PI).

Thomas, K. S. & Jones, C. R. G. (2023). The intersection of autism and gender diversity in eating disorders. Cardiff University Learning & Teaching Academy Summer Placement (PI).

Paine, A. L., Robinson, C., Thomas, K., & Smilie, I. (2021-2022). Laughing all the Way to Better Wellbeing in Childhood. Innovation for All Civic Mission Fund (Co-I).

Gambi, C., Paine, A. L., Thomas, K., Hughes, A., Langley, K., Jones, C., Gerson, S., Shelton, K., & Smilie, I. (2021-2022). Co-producing developmental science: Working with educators and children to set priorities for research that matters. Innovation for All Public Engagement Fund (Co-I).

Vanderwert, R. E. & Thomas, K. S. (2019). Understanding risk factors for disordered eating behaviours in children. Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme.

Thomas, K. S. (2018 - 2022). Graduate Teaching Assistant Studentship, School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

Thomas, K. S. (2017 - 2021). ESRC DTP PhD Studentship (1+3).

Teaching

Undergraduate level

• In Year 1, I lead the poster session for the PS2026 Thinking about Human Behaviour module.
• I am a Year 2 Academic Tutor, supporting students in developing their academic skills in workshops spanning topics in Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Psychological Research Skills. I also mark coursework linked to the Developmental Psychology module.
• I am a Personal Tutor at all undergraduate levels.
• I supervise final-year project students.

Postgraduate level

• I supervise dissertation projects on the MSc in Children's Psychological Disorders.
• I supervise and mark practicals from the Developmental and Clinical Psychology module for students on the MSc Psychology course.
• I supervise MSc Psychology students undertaking placements during the summer.
• I teach qualitative lectures on the PST722 module.

Additional roles

• I provide mentoring to other early career researchers/academics.
• I provide support to the Unfair Practice team.
• I am a member of the Early Career Academic (ECA) forum.
• I am the ECA Wellbeing representative for the School of Psychology.

Previous teaching experience

• During my PhD, I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA), delivering group seminars to first-year undergraduate students. I also marked essays and provided feedback.
• In the last year of my PhD, I took on the role of Lead GTA. In addition to normal GTA duties, I liaised with module leaders to ensure all seminar content was up-to-date and improved based on feedback.  Another key area of my role was providing support for eight other GTAs.
• At the start of my lectureship, I delivered tutorials and workshops supporting statistical analyses and practical reports for Year 1 and 2 students. 

Biography

Postgraduate education

2018 - 22: PhD Psychology, Cardiff University

2017 - 18: MSc Social Science Research Methods (Distinction), Cardiff University

Undergraduate education

2013 - 17: BSc Psychology with Professional Placement (First Class Honours), Cardiff University.

2015 - 16: Placement Student, Ty Catrin, Low Secure Mental Illness and Personality Disorder Service, Cardiff.

Teaching

2022 - present: Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Employment

2022 - present: Lecturer, School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

2021 - 22: Lead Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

2018 - 21: Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

2016 - 19: Research Assistant, Centre for Occupational and Health Psychology, Cardiff University.

Honours and awards

Hadyn Ellis Prize for Best PhD 2023

HCRW Fellowship Development Workshop (funded place), September 2023

Stonewall Cymru Future LGBTQ+ Leaders Programme, January 2024

Speaking engagements

Appearance Matters 10 Conference, 11-13th June 2024 (poster)

Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science Colloquium: Under-represented groups in mental health research, 13th December 2023 (talk)

Swansea University School of Psychology Seminar Series, 31st May 2023 (invited talk)

Translation and Impact of Population Health Research Away Day, 2nd February 2023 (poster)

British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience, 24-25th May 2022 (talk and poster)

The British Feeding and Drinking Group 46th Annual Meeting, 13-14th April 2022 (talk)

Society for Research in Child Development, 7-9th April 2021 (poster)

International Conference on Children’s Eating Behaviour, 21st March 2019 (poster).