Support Us
Support Us

Experts Advancing Global Health

Hero Image
Photo of Kimberly A. Thomas, Ph.D.

Kimberly A. Thomas, Ph.D.

Assistant Investigator

Dr. Thomas is an assistant investigator at Vitalant Research Institute, Denver. The overall goal of her research program is to improve precision transfusion medicine by providing patients with blood products that meet their specific needs. She applies approaches learned from her molecular and cellular immunology background to answer questions plaguing the transfusion medicine field. Dr. Thomas completed her B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology at a small liberal arts college, where she had over three years of hands-on molecular lab experience. This was followed by her Ph.D. in immunology/microbiology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, where she characterized the expression and function of a unique receptor in the TREM family found on circulating leukocytes. This led her to a postdoctoral position at University of California, Los Angeles in the field of alloimmunity, where she studied the combinatorial effects of adaptive (antibodies) and innate (complement) immunity at the endothelial surface – the barrier between the donor organ and the recipient’s immune system. These experiences in the vascular space provided the groundwork for her next step into the field of transfusion medicine, where for the past five years she has been studying the hemostatic, immune and endothelial response to blood product transfusion.

Current Positions

Assistant Investigator, Vitalant Research Institute, Denver, Colorado 

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado

Links

ORCID Profile 

CU Profile 

Linked In 

Education & Training

B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, California Lutheran University 

Ph.D. in Microbiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham 

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles 

Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington University in St. Louis 

Instructor, Research Track, Washington University in St. Louis

Publications

NCBI Bibliography 

ORCID Profile 

Research Interest

Our research program focuses on identifying and leveraging differences in blood product manufacturing and storage, with an emphasis on platelets, to meet the specific needs of patients receiving transfusions. As platelets play important roles in hemostasis, immune function and vascular maintenance, their transfusion can serve varying purposes depending on the bleeding etiology of a patient. Platelet transfusions can usually be categorized as either prophylactic (e.g., to prevent bleeding by promoting vascular integrity) or therapeutic (e.g., to stop active bleeding by forming clots). Alterations in manufacturing (e.g., pathogen reduction) and storage (e.g., room temperature vs. cold) of platelet products can lead to differences in platelet function. This leads to the question: Do certain platelet product manufacturing and/or storage conditions promote unique functional profiles that will meet the specific needs of a given bleeding patient population?  

Using both in vitro and in vivo models, we aim to (i) identify the mechanisms regulating transfused platelet function during specific pathophysiologies and (ii) determine which manufacturing/storage practices improve hemostatic, immune and endothelial function after transfusion in each bleeding etiology. Our ultimate goal is to inform and direct the field of personalized transfusion medicine, thereby having a positive impact on the lives of patients receiving transfusions.