Kimberly Thomson

Assistant Professor

Kimberly Thomson

Assistant Professor

Areas of interest

Children's health policy, child and youth mental health, social-emotional development, life course epidemiology, developmental trajectories, intergenerational mental health, social determinants of health, population and public health, prevention and health promotion, evaluation, longitudinal studies, intergenerational cohort studies

Biography

Dr. Kimberly Thomson joined the Faculty of Health Sciences in September 2023 as an Assistant Professor in the Children’s Health Policy Centre. Dr. Thomson’s research investigates social context factors within children’s early environments that are associated with future mental health and well-being throughout the life course and into the next generation. She is particularly interested in research that informs policy, and has worked with Child Development Monitoring teams in British Columbia and Australia to embed routinely collected population child health monitoring data into policy and practice.

Research Interests

Dr. Thomson has three lines of research that support her interest in children’s mental health promotion: (1) Investigating the factors within children’s early social environments that are associated with life course mental health and well-being; (2) Examining how mental health transfers intergenerationally – including the social, psychological, and biological mechanisms of transmission; and (3) Evaluating the impacts of policies and systems designed to optimize children’s early environments to promote their social-emotional development and well-being.

Dr. Thomson’s work applies an integrated knowledge translation approach, co-constructing research with community leaders, health service providers, and policy-makers, including collaborators at the BC Centre for Disease Control, Canadian Mental Health Association, and BC health authorities, school boards, and Ministries, to mobilize research evidence for informed decision-making.

Teaching interests

Dr. Thomson’s teaching interests include: child and youth mental health, child health policy, social determinants of health, health promotion, and evaluation.

Publications

View Dr. Thomson’s publications here

Courses

Future courses may be subject to change.