Professor Thomas received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. Her areas of specialization are religions of the Roman Empire; Early Christian literature and culture; the Christian Apocrypha; Archaeology and the study of religion; and orality and literacy in Antiquity. Her book publications include The Acts of Peter, Gospel Literature, and the Ancient Novel: Rewriting the Past (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) and she teaches courses such as Religion and Spirituality in the Roman Empire, Jewish-Christian Relations in Antiquity, and The New Testament and Early Christianity.