Professor Kyla Thomas – Network Director, NIHR South West Central Regional Research Delivery Network
Black History Month invites us to pause and reflect on the contributions of Black leaders whose actions and values continue to shape our healthcare community. In the field of clinical research and public health, Professor Kyla Thomas stands out for her integrity, leadership, and commitment to equity.
A Journey of Dedication and Excellence
Professor Thomas graduated with distinction in Medicine (MBBS, 2003) from the University of the West Indies before continuing her postgraduate studies at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning two MSc degrees in Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health Science. She later completed her PhD with commendation at the University of Bristol in 2014 and qualified as a Consultant in Public Health Medicine in 2016.
Her career since has combined academic achievement with senior leadership. She has served as Clinical Director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network West of England from October 2017, and in April 2024 took up her current role as Network Director for the NIHR South West Central Regional Research Delivery Network.
Leadership with Real-World Impact
Professor Thomas’s research has consistently been guided by the principle of improving population health. Her work on nicotine dependence has directly informed national policy, influencing NICE guidance and regulatory assessments of smoking cessation treatments. Through NIHR-funded studies, she has also helped develop primary care interventions to reduce opioid analgesic dependence, demonstrating how rigorous research can be translated into meaningful change for patients and communities.
Reflections on Identity, Equity and Leadership
Equity has been a constant theme throughout her career, drawing her into public health where she could advocate for systemic change and inclusive care.
She speaks candidly about her experiences of racism, which can be overt but also more subtle and insidious (microaggressions). These experiences have shaped her perspective on leadership and the importance of promoting a safe and inclusive culture so that everyone feels respected and valued. She has always been determined to set her own course and not be limited by other people’s expectations of what she could achieve.
She also recalls the pressures of academic conformity, particularly earlier on in her career, from research interests to dress codes. She has retained an ongoing interest in non-academic hobbies (for example fashion, interior design and gardening) as she believes that individuality and professionalism can co-exist.
Values at the Heart of Leadership
What emerges most strongly from her story is a leadership style rooted in values. Resilience and excellence underpin her academic and professional journey. Integrity runs through her research, which has shaped national guidelines and policy. She is widely recognised as a generous mentor, supporting early career colleagues both formally and informally. Across academia, public health, and policy, her work is driven by inclusivity and service, ensuring that diverse voices are represented.
Professor Thomas resists being reduced to a single identity. She is a woman, Black, a mother, a wife, a professor, a mentor, a leader, and a friend, and more, but she is none of these in isolation. She is proud of her Trinidadian heritage and is an Anglophile, taking pride in her dual British/Trinidadian citizenship. Her example reminds us that there is strength in embracing diversity, and that we should all embrace our “otherness,” whatever form that may take, since it’s what makes us unique individuals. She wants us to remember the wise words of Jo Cox- “we have more in common than that which divides us”. She reminds us to be very wary of those who promote divisiveness for their own agendas.
Black History Month: Honouring Ongoing Legacies
Black History Month is not only about remembering the past but also recognising those shaping our present and future. Professor Thomas’s story is one of Black excellence in action, an enduring example of leadership, identity and equity.
As we reflect this month, her journey, from the University of the West Indies to international scholarship and senior leadership in UK research, shows how values-driven leadership continues to shape healthcare. It is a testament to the impact of integrity, compassion, and excellence in action today.