Dr. Megan Thomas

I am a UK trained Developmental Paediatrician, who worked in the NHS for over 30 years, mainly in the Northwest of England, on the Fylde coast.  I moved to Nova Scotia during the pandemic and am grateful to live next to the sea again in the beautiful South Shore, part of the geographical region of Sipekne'katik in Mi'kma'ki. I have been working in the Developmental Pediatrics Clinic at the IWK Health Centre and as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University since September 2020. I am cross-appointed to the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry supervise a number of research students. My research is clinically focused and predominantly involves children with neurodevelopmental difficulties and disabilities and their families. I have a particular interest in sleep and have been involved in behavioural and pharmacological sleep studies, as well as systematic reviews of sleep interventions for children with and without neurodisabilities. I am passionate about understanding and supporting parents and families with a disabled child live well and this led to my PhD, completed in 2011. As my experience of sleep medicine and sleep research have developed, I have become interested and committed in helping all children and their families, and indeed society in general, achieve healthy sleep. Research projects and educational endeavours that I am currently undertaking and developing reflect this priority. I am also committed to working alongside families and colleagues to ensure respectful, supportive practices that embrace and celebrate diversity, remove barriers, and enable equitable access.