AHRC Council member
Michael Thomas is a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Michael Thomas is Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Education. He is a cognitive neuroscientist and developmental psychologist, a professor at Birkbeck University of London, and a previous director of the University of London Centre for Educational Neuroscience.
His work focuses on translational research and dialogue between neuroscience, psychology, and educational policy and practice. His research includes:
- trials in schools, for example to improve science and mathematics learning, to cohort studies of adolescent cognitive development, wellbeing, and technology use
- longitudinal studies of children with neurodevelopmental conditions
- computational neuroscience studies of brain plasticity
Before joining Birkbeck, Michael completed his PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, and a fellowship at University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.
Michael is a:
- Chartered Psychologist
- Fellow of the British Psychological Society
- Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Last updated: 6 February 2026