Before joining UH College of Pharmacy, Dr. Thornton practiced as a board-certified, clinical pharmacist while completing his Ph.D. in Health Services and Outcomes Research at West Virginia University. Before finishing the Ph.D. in 2017, he graduated from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy with a professional pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) and completed a post-graduate year-1 pharmacy practice residency at Saint Mary's Medical Center in Huntington, W. Va., where he saw opioid abuse destroying lives and families first-hand. His research focuses on optimizing the management of pain and opioid use disorder though the effective use of medications and related health care services. Through his opioid-related research projects, he has worked with a wide range of stakeholders and currently represents the greater Houston area on the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council.