Born in Ireland, Dr. Tobin graduated from the University of Dublin in 1975. After internal medicine training in Ireland and England, he completed a pulmonary fellowship at the University of Miami under renowned Dr. Marvin Sackner who sent him to the University of Pittsburgh for additional training in CCM during academic year 1982/83. Dr. Tobin was an extremely productive fellow in our program and published no less than 15 scientific papers during his time at Pitt. He left for an appointment at the University of Texas in Houston but was recruited in 1990 as full professor of medicine to the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine of Stritch School of Medicine at the University of Loyola in Chicago, where he currently is Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Research.

Dr. Tobin has gained international renown for his research on various problems in mechanical ventilation of respiratory failure. He has trained 20 postdoctorate fellows in his research laboratory. He served for five years as chief editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and as an editorial board member of numerous other scientific journals. He has received over $4 M in grants for his research, including a currrent NIH grant of nearly $1.5 M for a study on weaning from mechanical vetnilation.

Dr. Tobin is author or editor of 8 books, including his best seller on Mechanical Ventilation, currently in its third edition. He has published over 500 scientific papers and more than 100 book chapters. Having served as visiting professor and lecturer at hundreds of medical schools and prominent international meetings, Dr. Tobin was invited back to the Department of CCM at Pitt as the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Lecturer. He presented "The Broader Implications of the Three Negative Clinical Trials of PEEP" to a crowded audience on January 7 with academic exellence, covering historical aspects of research before criticizing and appreciating the importance of negative results. Dr. Tobin's extremely high level of academic presentation invited many questions, especially by the senior members of the Pitt CCM Department.