[4] After graduating BVMZ in 1983 she spent a year working in a small-animal clinic in Perth, WA, then moved to Melbourne to do her master's degree, which she completed in 1986.

[4] Professor Thomas has published widely on her veterinary research, including articles on feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection and clinical pathology, topics that were part of her PhD.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the signing event and expressed his support during a business delegation trip to Southeast Asia, which included Professor Thomas.

But in December 2024, Professor Jan Thomas told The Post reporter George Heagney the forecast showed the university would return a substantially better result than originally budgeted.

[9] On September 18, 2018, it was revealed via documents released under the OIA New Zealand that Professor Thomas used her influence as the Vice-Chancellor to silence Dr Don Brash the day before he was due to give a speech to Politics Society at Massey University.