Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences

I’m Shane Thomas

Professor Shane Thomas joined Lincoln in 1978 as a sessional lecturer and then joined the full time faculty in 1980 as a young lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Sciences. He became a Reader as Lincoln transitioned into La Trobe University in 1988. He lectured and researched in health psychology and was one of the large group of staff at Lincoln who established the Health Psychology section in the Australian Psychological Society and pioneered health psychology globally. This lively intellectual environment was the basis for his ensuing career as a Professor at La Trobe, Monash, Sydney, Adelaide, Peking and Federation universities. The first edition of his research book with Steve Polgar was published in 1988 based on the program taught at Lincoln and was immediately set as a text at La Trobe and Oxford Universities and subsequently hundreds of universities. It is entering its 8th edition in 2025. Preparation for the 9th edition has already commenced. Lincoln scholars went on to make a remarkable collective contribution to Australian and international health sciences and disciplines.