The Thom group contributes to the work of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe. 

The origin of life is, at its core, a chemical question. Many experimental studies across organic and synthetic chemistry have uncovered valuable information on the potential pathways leading to the formation of the building blocks of life. Computational studies in the Thom group aim to extend beyond the reach of these discoveries by simulating key reactions and chemical phenomena under a variety of conditions characteristic of the prebiotic Earth environment, but irreplicable in the laboratory.

Current projects involve investigating the role of chirality-induced spin-selectivity in the origin of chirality in biomolecules, and the construction of large-scale automated reaction networks using first-principles methods to simulate the prebiotic environment.