The director of Neurotransmitter.net, Shawn M. Thomas, obtained a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science in May 2007 from the Graduate School of Library & Information Science (GSLiS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. GSLiS has consistently been ranked as the number one LIS program by U.S. News and World Report. Shawn's outstanding graduate school performance was recognized by University of Illinois faculty, who selected him to the prestigious Chancellor's List. He achieved a 3.96 GPA after 42 credit hours of demanding graduate study and only received one A-. Shawn also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology from Quincy University (QU) in Quincy, Illinois. He has also studied computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and received an Associate of Science degree after a semester at John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois. Shawn's primary research interests include improving the dissemination of biomedical information and enhancing our understanding of drugs that affect the brain. Shawn spends much of his time creating the next generation of Web 2.0 technology to deliver interactive collections of medical research and news to users. He is temporarily working as a consultant to the Blessing Health Professions Library in Quincy, Illinois. Shawn is currently seeking employment as a web services librarian or health science librarian and will soon apply to several libraries. Ideally, he would like to work for a research- focused university as a web services librarian with a focus on biomedical or neuroscience resources. E-mail Shawn@neurotransmitter.net if you would like a copy of his résumé.
Shawn's work related to Neurotransmitter.net has been reviewed or cited in journals such as Science Magazine (June 10, 2005), Molecular Interventions (December 2004), Current Opinion in Drug Discovery & Development (September 2004), Chemical Biology & Drug Design (November 2007), The Journal of Family Practice (March 2007), Drugs & Therapy Perspectives (March 2007), Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets (January 2007), BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making (January 2007), Applied Bioinformatics (2006; Volume 5, Number 3), Nursing (October 2006), Gene (December 2005), Genome Research (December 2005), the American Journal of Epidemiology (July 2006), the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (June 2006), Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy (November/December 2005), Complementary Health Practice Review (October 2007), Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association (March 2007), and Australasian Psychiatry (September 2005). Neurotransmitter.net has been included in the web links sections of textbooks such as Abnormal Psychology (Hansell & Damour) and Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools, 4th edition (Turnbull, Turnbull, Shank, & Smith). The site has also been cited in books such as Diagnosis Made Easier: Principles and Techniques for Mental Health Clinicians (Morrison) and Psychology Today: Taming Bipolar Disorder (Oliwenstein).
Several million people from over 150 countries have visited Neurotransmitter.net, and the site received more than nineteen million page views and six million visits from August 2006 to July 2007. Shawn first opened Neurotransmitter.net to the public in September 2002, soon after his twenty-first birthday. Shawn is familiar with several standards, such as HTML, PHP, MySQL, Javascript, CSS, RSS, C, XML, and Dublin Core.
Shawn regularly helps researchers and clinicians to find information about psychiatric rating scales. In the past, he has offered assistance to researchers and clinicians at Massachusetts General Hospital, Duke University, the University of Florida, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Wyeth, Forest Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Synthelabo, GlaxoSmithKline and a number of other institutions. Shawn has also helped researchers and clinicians from a number of countries, such as Japan, India, Malaysia, Ireland, the UK, Brazil, Canada, Italy, China, Russia, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Australia.
Shawn is the originator of the hypothesis that the neurotransmitter agmatine, an endogenous NMDA antagonist, is the key neurobiological factor involved in near-death experiences. He has studied neuropsychopharmacology for more than ten years and has written detailed summaries about the mechanisms of action of more than one hundred drugs such as general anesthetics. Shawn's other interests include writing poetry; he has had works published in publications such as Taj Mahal Review. He also enjoys playing mentally challenging board games such as Cathedral, Sequence, and chess to exercise his brain on a regular basis.
From August 2003 to May 2005, Shawn served as an assistant to Dr. John Natalini, professor of biology at Quincy University. He was responsible for grading exams and papers, editing exams, updating course syllabi, creating PowerPoint presentations, digitizing course material, and laboratory assistance. From October 1999 to February 2001, Shawn worked as a computer technician at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was responsible for solving a variety of hardware, software, peripheral, and network related problems. He has also worked as a web development contractor for ETC ComputerLand in Quincy, Illinois. Shawn has acquired world class online reference skills and technical expertise with his work and school experience.
Completed Coursework
Library & Information Science:
Health Science Information Services & Resources (UIUC)
Biodiversity Informatics (UIUC)
Interfaces to Information Systems (UIUC)
Information Sources and Services for the Sciences (UIUC)
Design of Digitally Mediated Information Services (UIUC)
Use and Users of Information (UIUC)
Digital Libraries (UIUC)
Reference and Information Services (UIUC)
Libraries, Information, and Society (UIUC)
Information Organization and Access (UIUC)
Biology
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (QU)
Vertebrate Physiology (QU)
Vertebrate Endocrinology (QU)
General Microbiology (QU)
Vertebrate Embryology (QU)
Interdisciplinary Honors Core in the Social Sciences (UIC; The topic of the course related to sociobiology.)
General Biology I (JWCC)
Independent Research – Creation of the MetaDB Metadatabase for the Biological Sciences (QU)
Psychology:
Physiological Psychology (QU)
Research Methods & Statistics I (QU)
Research Methods & Statistics II (QU)
Psychopathology (QU)
Personality Theory (QU)
Child Psychology (QU)
Introduction to Psychology (QU)
Chemistry/Physics:
Honors General Chemistry I (UIC)
General Chemistry II (QU)
General Physics I (UIC)
Math:
Calculus III (UIC)
Calculus & Analytical Geometry II (UIUC)
Calculus I (UIC)
Precalculus Mathematics (UIC)
Computer Science:
Introduction to Computing (UIC)
Introduction to Programming (UIC)
Foundations of Computer Science (UIC)
Languages and Automata (UIC)
English:
Freshman Colloquium II (UIC; Shawn received an English ACT score of 34/36 with a perfect score in Usage/Mechanics, which counted for credit in Freshman Colloquium I.)
Fiction (JWCC)
Political Science:
Power, Authority, Freedom, and Liberty in the Modern Era (QU)
History of U.S. Foreign Relations (QU)
Symposium on Politics (UIC)
Introduction to American Government (UIC)
Other:
Introduction to the Study of Language (UIC)
Introduction to Speech I (JWCC)
Western Civilization to 1648 (UIC)
Concepts in Geography (UIC)
The Art of Being Human (JWCC)
Myths & Rituals (QU)
Major World Religions (JWCC)
