Education
MVB (DVM); University College, Dublin, 1964
MSc; Pharmacology, University of Guelph, 1966
PhD; Pharmacology-Toxicology, University of Toronto,
1970
Licenses
MRCVS – Member, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,
1964
Kentucky Veterinary Boards License, NS-1053
Board Certification
DABT-Diplomate, American Board of Toxicology, Inc. 1980-Date
Employment
Professor of Veterinary Science, Gluck Equine Research
Center, U.K.
Professor, Graduate Center for Toxicology, U.K.
Intellectual Property
Patent for a morphine/drug detection technique, 1983. WTT, Inc., created
with licenses for 50-plus ELISA tests, 1991. Sold to Neogen,
Inc. as ELISA Technologies, 1993. Currently, 100 employees
in Lexington, $30M sales, significant UK royalty. Thirty-plus
unique equine drug metabolites and deuterated standards
synthesized and licensed. Patent for treatment of EPM granted,
licensed and marketed as Marquis®, August 2001, significant
UK royalty. Other patents/ intellectual properties in progress.
Unique mathematical analysis and biologically unique proposed
pathogenesis of MRLS copyrighted (TXVIIII484). Publishing/other royalties.
Teaching
Toxicology, Pharmacology, “Ethics in Scientific
Research,” “Risk Assessment,” International
Short Courses: “The Commission Veterinarian/Equine
Medical Director” 1995 to 2001, and “Testing
for Therapeutic Medications, Dietary and Environmental
Substances.” Six Kentucky Veterinarian’s Short
Courses, 2000-2001. Bain-Fallon Lectures, Gold Coast, Australia,
2002. Workshop on Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS),
August 2002, Published, May 2003.
Honors
HBPA Man of the Year, 1995; Kentucky HBPA Man of the
Year, 1999; Toxicology Student Award, 1993; Toxicology
rated the only “extremely effective” graduate
program in Kentucky by National Research Council, 1992-93;
Bain Fallon Lectures, 1990; The “Dr. Thomas Tobin
Purse,” August 1, Emerald Downs, Seattle, Washington,
1999; Numerous advisory boards. Honorary faculty, College
of Veterinary Medicine, Cordoba, Argentina, “Thomas
Tobin Purse”, Cordoba, August, 2001. The Professor
Thomas Tobin Trophy, Cayamanas Racetrack, Jamaica, April
20th, 2002. Bain-Fallon Lectures, Gold Coast, Australia,
July 2002.
Research Support
Approximately $13 million through 2007.
Publications
About 400-papers, 100-plus abstracts, two books, five
volumes of proceedings. Numerous articles published and
reprinted in lay journals. See www.thomastobin.com for
a full indexed listing of publications and presentations.
Drugs and the Performance Horse, by Thomas Tobin. Foreword
by HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh. 480 pp., Springfield, Illinois:
Charles C. Thomas, 1981.
Proceedings of the Workshop on Testing for Therapeutic
Medications, Environmental and Dietary Substances in Racing
Horse. 218 pages, 1995.
Proceedings of the First Workshop on Mare Reproductive
Loss Syndrome. 134 pages, 2002.
Biographical Sketch
Thomas Tobin (TT), Veterinarian, Dublin, 64, Pharmacologist
MSc, Guelph, 66, PhD, Toronto, 70, faculty, Michigan State
University, Equine Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology
program at the University of Kentucky, 75-date. In 1979
organized the Third Int.Symp.on Equine Medication Control,
in 1981 published Drugs and the Performance Horse,
500 page text. In 1983 testified before Congress on the “Corrupt
Horse Racing Practices Act”; thereafter, activity
on this bill ceased.
In 1980 became a Diplomate of the America Board of Toxicology.
In 1985 he began research that introduced ELISA testing
to horse racing. Licensing and commercialization of this
technology led to the creation of WTT ELISA TESTS, later
sold to Neogen Corp (www.neogen.com). Neogen Lexington
now employs 100, brings in $30M/year and an ongoing significant
royalty to UK.
In 1988 became Director of the UK Graduate Center for
Toxicology, developed minority programs and brought in
a $800K NIEHS Training Grant. By 93 core faculty and student
admissions were up three-fold, extramural funding had increased
from 0 to $800K per year, and courses on “Ethics
in Scientific Research” and “Risk Assessment” had
been developed. When NRC reviewed Kentucky doctoral programs
in 93, only The Graduate Center for Toxicology was rated “extremely
effective.”
In 1994, TT organized an international workshop, “Testing
for Therapeutic Medications, Environmental and Dietary
Substances in Racing Horses,” that brought 70 industry
leaders to Lexington. In 1995, TT and colleagues organized “The
Commission Veterinarian/Equine Medical Director: A Short
Course”. In 1995, TT and colleagues founded the Testing
Integrity Program (TIP) that serves as a national drug
testing Quality Assurance Program. TT was named “Man
of the Year” in 1995 by the National Horsemen's Benevolent
and Protective Association.
In 1996, TT and David Granstrom investigated new therapeutic
approaches to Equine Protozoal Myelitis (EPM) rapidly
establishing the therapeutic efficacy of diclazuril and
toltrazuril. A patent in this area was granted (#5,883,095,
1999) and licensed to Bayer Animal Health; in July 2001,
Bayer Marquis® (toltrazuril sulfone www.yourhorseshealth.com/epm/treat.html),
was the first FDA-approved treatment for EPM and brings
in a significant royalty to UK.
In 1998 the industry became focused on clenbuterol. A
series of LC-MS-MS based studies led to publication
of a highly sensitive serum test for clenbuterol, allowing
much more sensitive and reliable regulatory control of
therapeutic medications than previously possible. In 1998
TT also organized and published a TIP seminar on furosemide.
In 2000, at the direction of the Kentucky Racing Commission
(KRC), TT developed a series of nationally accredited continuing
education short courses for veterinary practitioners and
regulatory veterinarians in Kentucky and surrounding states.
Six short courses were offered.
In May of 2001, TT chaired the Toxicology Working Group
investigating the spring 2001 Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome
(MRLS), and his research group was temporarily redirected
to work on MRLS. Within three weeks the Eastern Tent Caterpillar
was identified as the most likely cause of MRLS. Work in
spring 2002 clearly linked MRLS to the Eastern Tent Caterpillar;
in August 2002, TT and David Powell organized the first
workshop on the Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, published
in May 2003. In 2003 LFL/MRLS was shown to follow an unusual
probabilistic model, Accelerated Failure Time analysis,
and a biologically unique pathogenesis for MRLS (www.jarvm.com/articles/Vol2Iss2/TOBINJARVMVol2No2.pdf)
based on septic penetrating setal fragments was proposed.
In 2003 the program contributed to the writing of the
National HBPA Proposed Policy on Drug Testing and Therapeutic
Medication (http://hbpa.org/resources/MedicationPolicy.pdf)
and has since focused on developing fully validated analytical
methods for agents abused in racing horses. In June of
2003 it was decided that it would be in the best interests
of the racing industry in Kentucky for the program to accredit,
and the process of becoming A2LA accredited was initiated.
In 2004 the program was redirected to emphasize new therapeutics and toxicology, with an emphasis on equine diagnostics, prophylaxes and therapeutics. In 2005, the program began synthesizing series of deuterated internal standards for equine therapeutic medications; in July 2006, US Patent # 7,074,843 for a novel veterinary sedative and tranquilizer was awarded and a unique pathogenesis for oligofructan based laminitis was proposed.
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