Biography
Dr. Thomas Tomasi received his AB from Dartmouth College, with highest distinction, and his MD, cum laude, from the University of Vermont. He served as resident and chief-resident at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY. He received his Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University in 1965.
His faculty positions include: Chair of Experimental Medicine, University of Vermont; Buswell Professor and Director, Division of Immunology and Rheumatic Diseases; Professor of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo [SUNY-UB]; William H. Donner Professor and Chair of Immunology, Mayo Medical School; Distinguished University Professor and Chair of Cell Biology and Director of the University of New Mexico Cancer Center; President & CEO, Roswell Park Cancer Center [Roswell Park]. He is currently a Member and Professor at Roswell Park and Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at SUNY-UB. Dr. Tomasi is a member of the Association of American Physicians and has been honored by the Michael Heidelberger Lectureship, Columbia University; Distinguished Alumni Award, UVM; Citizen of the Year Awards, Buffalo, NY; George F. Koepf Award, Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute; D'Youville College Health Achievement Award; Honorary Doctorate, State University of New York. He has served on a number of scientific editorial boards including: Journal of Immunology; Journal of Clinical Investigation; Journal of Medicine; Journal of Clinical Immunology and the Advisory Board for Critical Reviews in Immunology.
He served as a member of the Board of Trustees, Trudeau Institute for Medical Research, Saranac Lake, NY; Board of Directors, Western New York Technology Development Center, Inc.; Board of Trustees, Calspan/UB Research Center; and the Scientific Advisory Board, Guthrie Research Institute.
Dr. Tomasi has been a preceptor to 60 predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows.
Positions
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Professor of Immunology
- Department of Immunology
- M&T Bank Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo
- Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
- Professor of Medicine
Background
Education and Training
- 1965 - PhD - The Rockefeller University, New York
- MD - University of Vermont
- AB - Dartmouth College
Professional Memberships
- Association of American Physicians
Honors & Awards
- Michael Heidelberger Lectureship, Columbia University
- Distinguished Alumni Award, UVM
- Citizen of the Year Award, Buffalo, NY
- George F. Koepf Award, Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute
- D'Youville College Health Achievement Award
- Honorary Doctorate, State University of New York
Research Overview
- Development of epigenetic tumor vaccine.
- Examining the pathways by which micro RNAs regulate immune genes.
Publications
- Oshlag JZ, Devasthanam AS, Tomasi TB. Mild hyperthermia enhances the expression and induces oscillations in the Dicer protein. International j hyperthermia. 2013, 29(1): 51-61
- Devasthanam AS and Tomasi TB. Dicer in immune cell development and function. Immunological investigations. 2014, 48(2): 182-195
- Tomasi TB, Magner WJ, Wiesen JL, Oshlag JZ, Cao F, Pontikos AN, Gregorie CJ. MHC class II regulation by epigenetic agents and microRNAs. Immunologic research 2010; 46(1-3):45-58
- Asirvatham AJ, Magner WJ, Tomasi TB. miRNA regulation of cytokine genes. Cytokine 2009; 45(2):58-69
- Gregorie CJ, Wiesen JL, Magner WJ, Lin AW, Tomasi TB. Restoration of immune response gene induction in trophoblast tumor cells associated with cellular senescence. Journal of reproductive immunology 2009; 81(1):25-33
- Wiesen JL, Tomasi TB. Dicer is regulated by cellular stresses and interferons. Molecular immunology 2009; 46(6):1222-1228
- Asirvatham AJ, Gregorie CJ, Hu Z, Magner WJ, Tomasi TB. MicroRNA targets in immune genes and the Dicer/Argonaute and ARE machinery components. Molecular immunology 2008; 45(7):1995-2006
- Chou SD, Tomasi TB. Spatial distribution of histone methylation during MHC class II expression. Molecular immunology 2008; 45(4):971-980
- Khan AN, Gregorie CJ, Tomasi TB. Histone deacetylase inhibitors induce TAP, LMP, Tapasin genes and MHC class I antigen presentation by melanoma cells. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy: CII 2008; 57(5):647-654
- Khan AN, Tomasi TB. Histone deacetylase regulation of immune gene expression in tumor cells. Immunologic research 2008; 40(2):164-178
- Khan AN, Magner WJ, Tomasi TB. An epigenetic vaccine model active in the prevention and treatment of melanoma. Journal of translational medicine 2007;5:64