Dr. Tomer is currently the Anita and Jack Saltz Chair in Diabetes Research, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Montefiore Einstein, leading over 700 full-time faculty members. As Chair, he oversaw significant growth in clinical operations and the establishment of new centers including a new Department of Medicine practice in Westchester, the Fleischer Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism, the Institute for Lupus Care and Research, a new Weight Management Center and more.
Dr. Tomer's emphasis on innovation yielded a significant growth in research with recruitment of new faculty and an increase in National Institutes of Health funding to $66 million in 2022 (ranked No. 27 by Blue Ridge). He is especially committed to fostering the careers of junior faculty; currently, the Department of Medicine has 18 K-awardees. Dr. Tomer also launched the Department of Medicine’s bold strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), recruiting an inaugural Associate Chair for DEI to oversee the implementation of this strategic plan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Tomer successfully led the department’s response to this unprecedented crisis.
“I am honored to accept this position and humbled by the confidence the Board has expressed in my leadership,” said Dr. Tomer. “Over the course of my tenure at Einstein, I’ve had the opportunity to see, first-hand, the impact our students and faculty have had in transforming communities and advancing science. I am fully committed to building a more diverse physician workforce that reflects the fabric of our society, and to our shared cause of social medicine and social justice.”
Prior to joining Montefiore Einstein as Chair of the Department of Medicine in 2016, Dr. Tomer served as Vice Chair for Research; Division Chief of Endocrinology; and the Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Molecular Medicine, all at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. As Division Chief, Dr. Tomer oversaw an extensive expansion of the clinical and research operations in endocrinology, including a major expansion of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center; a new pituitary clinical and research center; the only adrenal center in New York City; and a new program for medical management of obesity. He recruited national and international leaders in endocrinology to the Metabolism Institute resulting in a seven-fold increase in NIH funding.
“Dr. Tomer’s life’s work and his international reputation will strengthen Einstein’s place as a destination for the world’s brightest faculty and students. The Board is honored that Dr. Tomer has chosen to continue his work with Montefiore Einstein by leading our great medical school,” said Ruth L. Gottesman, EdD, Board Chair, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Tomer is a world-renowned researcher with a robust, NIH-funded laboratory. His research team is studying the immunogenetic, epigenetic, and environmental mechanisms causing thyroid autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes. His research has recently led to the discovery of several compounds that have the potential to be developed as antigen-specific therapies for autoimmune thyroiditis and type 1 diabetes. Dr. Tomer has published over 200 manuscripts and book chapters and has 4 patent disclosures. He served on the editorial boards of the journals Endocrinology, JCEM and Thyroid, among others. Dr. Tomer is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He is the recipient of several awards recognizing his research accomplishments, including the prestigious 2023 Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award from the American Thyroid Association in recognition of his major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years.
Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Tomer received his MD degree from the Sackler School of Medicine, his medical residency at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, and his endocrinology training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.
