Contact details

Professor Howard C Thomas FMedSci

Emeritus Professor of Hepatology
Department of Medicine

Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 6454
Email:

Professor Howard C Thomas

CURRICULUM VITAE

DATE OF BIRTH: 31 July 1945

DEGREES AND QUALIFICATIONS

• B.Sc. Class II, Division I, Honours in Physiology
• Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1966
• M.B., B.S. with Honours - Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1969
• Ph.D in Medicine - Glasgow University, 1974
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians - London, 1983
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, 1984
• Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists - London, 1991
• Fellow of  Academy of  Medical Science 1999

PAST AND PRESENT SENIOR APPOINTMENTS

• Wellcome Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science 1978-1983
• Reader in Medicine, Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London University, 1983-1984
• Titular Professor of Medicine, Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London University, 1984-1987
• Professor and Chairman of Medicine, St Marys Hospital Medical School, London University, 1987-1997
• Professor of Medicine and Head of Department of Medicine A; Deputy Chairman of Division of Medicine; Imperial College School of Medicine; and Consultant Physician/Hepatologist, St Marys Hospital, London, 1997- 2003
• Dean (Clinical), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, 2001- 2004
• Professor of Medicine and Head of Section of Hepatology and Gastroenterology; Imperial College School of Medicine; and Consultant Physician/Hepatologist, St Marys Hospital, London, 2003- present.

MEMBER/OFFICER  OF LEARNED SOCIETIES

• Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (Member)
• British Association for the Study of the Liver, President 1996-1998
• European Association for the Study of the Liver (President 1997)
• International Association for the Study of the Liver (Member)
• British Liver Trust, Member of Medical Advisory Committee, (1990- 1995)
• British Liver Trust, Vice President, 1993- present
• Hepatitis B Foundation: Trustee 2005-present
• Royal College of Physicians: member of Council and Executive Committee 2001- 2004
• British Society of gastroenterology: member of Council 2002- 2005

JOURNALS

Member of the Editorial Boards of:

• Hepatology, 1983-1985
• Alimentary Pharmacology, 1987 - 1997
• Interferons, Today and Tomorrow, 1987
• Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 1989-1992
• Clinical Science, 1998- 2001
• J Hepatology 1999- 2001

Editor of Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 1993 - present

Editor of Textbook of ' Viral Hepatitis' 1st,2nd and 3rd editions published by Blackwells

MEMBERSHIP OF INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEES

• WHO Adviser and Rapporteur on Chronic Liver Disease, Geneva, 1982
• Member of Expert Advisory Group, International Union Against Cancer, Geneva, 1982
• WHO Adviser on Antiviral Drugs, Geneva, 1987, 1992
• Member of EC EuroHep Committee 1990-1996
• Member of Scientific Committee of European Society for The Study of The Liver 1990-1993
• WHO Adviser on Hepatitis C, Geneva, 1998
• Member of Review Board of Australian Hepatitis C Strategy June 2002
• Member of International Advisory Panel for German HepNet 2001-2003

CHAIRMANSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP OF NATIONAL COMMITTEES

• Previous Member of UK Advisory Panel for Health Care Workers infected with blood borne viruses
• Previous Member of DoH Advisory Panel for Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation
• Member (1987-1997) and then  Chairman (1997-2009) of DoH Advisory Group on Viral Hepatitis;
• Chairman of DoH Steering Group on Hepatitis C National Strategy (2003-2005);
• Member of National Expert Panel on New Emerging Infections 2003 – 2009

ACADEMIC DISTINCTIONS

• Research Medal British Society of Gastroenterology, 1984
• Humphrey Davy Rolleston Lecturer of the Royal College of Physicians, 1986
• Cohen Lecturer, Israel. 1988
• Sheila Sherlock Research Prize, Toronto University, 1988
• Hans Popper International Award for Distinction in Hepatology, Basel,1989
• Bushell Lectureship of the Australian Society of Gastroenterology 1990
• State of the Art Lecture of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology 1991
• Hans Popper Lecture, International Association for Study of Liver, Cape Town, 1996 
• State of the Art Lecture of the German Society of Gastroenterology 1997
• Medal to Celebrate “100years of virology” from Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and D.I.Ivanovsky Institute of Virology 1997
• Fellow of  Academy of  Medical Science 1999
• Life Time Recognition award of European Society for Study of the Liver Vienna 2010
• Life Time Recognition Award of British Association for Study of the Liver Edinburgh 2010

PUBLICATIONS

I have published over 450 papers on the subjects of:

• oral tolerance
• molecular virology of HBV and HCV
• pathogenesis of chronic HBV and HCV, most recently looking at genetic factors influencing outcome of HBV and HCV infection
• pathogenesis of  autoimmune liver disease
• approaches to therapy of HBV and HCV
• epidemiology of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma
• cognitive and MRS abnormalities in chronic HCV infection and demonstration that HCV infects the CNS
• identification of genetic factors that influence alcoholism, NASH and drug induced liver injury by ENU mutagenesis

RESEARCH

My main contributions include:

• Description of oral tolerance to protein antigens and effect of liver injury. Thomas HC and Parrott MV  Immunology. 1974 Oct;27(4):631-9; Thomas HC, Ryan CJ, Benjamin IS, Blumgart LH, MacSween RN. Gastroenterology. 1976 Jul;71(1):114-7; Thomas HC, McSween RN, White RG. Lancet. 1973 Jun 9;1(7815):1288-91. (Awarded Research Medal of British Society of Gastroenterology 1984)
• Description of natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus (phases of immune tolerance; immune clearance and immune control). Chu CM, Karayiannis P, Fowler MJ, Monjardino J, Liaw YF, Thomas HC. Hepatology. 1985 5(3):431-4.
• Evidence for deficiency of interferon production in patients with chronic HBV infection acquired in adult life.  (T Ikeda, AML Lever, HC Thomas (1986); Hepatology. 1986 Sep-Oct;6(5):962-5. (Awarded Hans Popper International Award for Distinction in Hepatology, Basel,1989)
• Conducting the first European randomised controlled trials on use of interferon in CHB and CHC (A Lok et al 1985.  Hepatology 5;  1132-8;  Brook et al 1989.  BMJ 299  652-6.   M R Jacyna et al 1989.  BMJ 298  80 -2). (Awarded Hans Popper International Award for Distinction in Hepatology, Basel,1989)
• Determining the molecular basis of HBe antigen negative viraemia ( Mutation preventing formation of hepatitis B e antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Carman WF, Jacyna MR, Hadziyannis S, Karayiannis P, McGarvey MJ, Makris A, Thomas HC.Lancet. 1989 Sep 9;2(8663):588-91) (Awarded Medal to Celebrate “100years of virology” from Russian Academy of Medical Sciences 1997).
• Determining the molecular basis of HBV vaccine escape variants (Vaccine-induced escape mutant of hepatitis B virus. Carman WF, Zanetti AR, Karayiannis P, Waters J, Manzillo G, Tanzi E, Zuckerman AJ, Thomas HC. Lancet. 1990 Aug 11;336(8711):325-9). ) (Awarded Medal to Celebrate “100years of virology” from Russian Academy of Medical Sciences 1997).
•  Determining the association of a precore genomic variant of hepatitis B virus with fulminant hepatitis.  (Carman W, Karayiannis P, Hadziyiannis S and Thomas HC et al (1991).  Hepatology 14: 219-222).
•  Description of Viral dynamics in hepatitis B virus infection (determination of half-life of HBV and infected hepatocytes). Nowak MA, Bonhoeffer S, Hill AM, Boehme R, Thomas HC, McDade H. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Apr 30;93(9):4398-402)
• Contributing to the cloning of hepatitis G virus. This virus modifies the rate of progression of HIV infection. (Linnen et al (1996): Science 271 505-508)
•  Determining host genetic factors influencing outcome of hepatitis B and C infection ( Thursz M, Yallop R, Goldin R, Trepo C, Thomas HC.  Lancet. 1999 Dec 18-25;354(9196):2119-24.; Thursz MR, Thomas HC, Greenwood BM, Hill AV. Nat Genet. 1997 Sep;17(1):11-2; Thursz MR, Kwiatkowski D, Allsopp CE, Greenwood BM, Thomas HC, Hill AV. N Engl J Med. 1995 Apr 20;332(16):1065-9; Frodsham AJ, Zhang L, Dumpis U, Taib NA, Best S, Durham A,     Hennig BJ, Hellier S,   Knapp S, Wright M, Chiaramonte M, Bell JI, Graves M, Whittle HC, Thomas HC, Thursz MR, Hill AV. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jun 13;103(24):9148-53
• Identifying HCV induced changes in brain. These studies indicate that the brain is a sanctuary site for HCV replication which may explain relapse after anti-viral therapy (Forton DM, Allsop JM, Main J, Foster GR, Thomas HC, Taylor-Robinson SD. Lancet. 2001 Jul 7;358(9275):38-9;  Forton DM, Karayiannis P, Mahmud N, Taylor-Robinson SD, Thomas HC.  J Virol. 2004 May;78(10):5170-83
• Demonstrating the increasing incidence of cholangiocarcinoma in UK. This now the commonest cause of primary liver cancer in the UK.(Taylor-Robinson SD, Toledano MB, Arora S, Keegan TJ, Hargreaves S, Beck A, Khan SA, Elliott P, Thomas HC. Increase in mortality rates from intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in England and Wales 1968- 1998. Gut. 2001 Jun;48(6):816-20.
• Identification of genetic factors influencing alcoholism, drug induced liver disease and NAFLD.  Current MRC program Grant through to 2011. Papers submitted and in preparation.