Professor Thomas Jackson BSc MBBS MRCP PhD

Clinician Scientist in Geriatric Medicine

• PhD 2016
• MRCP Geriatrics 2012
• Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods in Cognitive Aging, University of Edinburgh 2011
• Membership of the Royal College of Physicians London (MRCP) 2006
• MBBS, University of London 2003
• BSc, University of London 2000

Thomas currently works as a professor and honorary consultant in geriatric medicine in the Department of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham. He works clinically in the acute medical unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Thomas qualified in 2003 from Guy’s, Kings, and St Thomas Hospitals in London and moved to Birmingham to complete specialist training in geriatric medicine and general internal medicine in 2007, gaining his certificate of completion of training (CCT) in 2012. He was awarded a joint Age UK-Research into Ageing Fund and British Geriatric Society Clinical Fellowship in 2012 with a project identifying dementia in older patients presenting to hospital with delirium.

Thomas was awarded the British Geriatric Society Rising Star in Research Award in 2018, and graduated from the European Academy of Medicine for Ageing in 2019. 

His research group focusses on understating the immune-inflammatory basis of clinical expressions of adverse ageing. These clinical expressions include delirium, frailty and sarcopenia. He leads a £4.4M research programme funded by Wellcome Leap Dynamic Resilience investigating underlying biological processes that drive older people’s ability to recover after stressor events such as surgery. A recent trial has looked at the effects of food supplements that have effects on underlying biological mechanisms of ageing – so testing the so called ‘geroscience hypothesis’.

He is joint PI of the OPTIMising therapies, discovering therapeutic targets and AI assisted clinical management for patients Living with complex multimorbidity study (OPTIMAL). This aims to provide decision support for polypharmacy, as well as insights in multimorbidity trajectories and clusters.

He is also passionate about supporting clinical geriatricians in training to develop careers in research, a clear area in need of capacity building, and has supported NIHR funded academic clinical fellows. To date he has supported a total of 5 ACFs, of whom 3 have gone on to secure funding for PhD posts, as well as supporting a post-doctoral ACL post. Dr Carly Welch has gone on to a tenured post at KCL with significant research funding. His team now consists of 3 PDRAs, 3 PhD students, 1 ACF post and have supported 2 previous technician posts.

• Intercalating Clinical Sciences degree – Geriatric Medicine and the Biology of Ageing (Lead)
• BMedSci - Biology of Ageing (Deputy Lead)

Thomas is currently supervising an Academic Clinical Fellowship in Geriatric Medicine.

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Professor Thomas Jackson directly, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Thomas' research in geriatric medicine has a strong focus on frailty, delirium, and the translation of underlying biological mechanisms of ageing. He believes his research, publications, and clinical trials have significantly advanced our understanding of these critical areas and are driven by a dedication to improve the lives of older adults. This work has resulted in numerous high-impact publications and over £12 million in grant funding, of which 7.6 million is active and as PI
Wellcome Leap Dynamic Resilience ($6.4M) – Principle Investigator.

NIHR OPTIMAL project (£2.4M) – Joint Principle Investigator for research collaborative involving researchers from Oxford, Edinburgh, and across disciplines (computer science, public health, epidemiology, geriatric medicine).

PI on a Bayer funded industry trial of a nutraceutical with geroprotective effects in healthy older people. This was one of the first geroscience trials conducted at scale worldwide, and has resulted in publication with media interest and further collaboration with industry.

Collaboration within the UNION: UnderstandiNg fraIlty tOwards a future of healthy ageing – a doctoral training collaboration, funded by the European Union involving 8 university and 10 industry and non-academic partner.

Collaboration, co-applicant, and project supervision as part of the Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity theme in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

Leadership within the WHITE hip fracture trials platform with Professor Matt Costa (Orthopaedic Surgery, Oxford) and Professor Iain Moppett (Anaestheisa, Nottingham) resulting in two trials now recruiting of geroscience based interventions to reduce post-operative delirium. 

International collaboration with the leading Oslo Delirium Research group – resulting in support for Dunhill Medical Trust Fellowship (Dr Moorey PhD fellowship), Key paper in Lancet Healthy Longevity on delirium, and collaborator on funded Norwegian Health Authority project (PI: Dr Bjorn Erik Neerland, University of Oslo).

• Past Trustee of the British Geriatrics Society (2010-2012)