According to the American Thoracic Society, Tobin is "the supreme scholar of critical care medicine and editor or author of seven extraordinary textbooks on the subject." The Lancet described his textbook Principles And Practice of Mechanical Ventilation as the "Bible" of the field of mechanical ventilation. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1994 and was editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine from 1999–2004.
