David Newman-Toker, MD, PhD

David Newman-Toker, M.D., Ph.D., is an internationally recognized leader in neuro-otology, acute stroke diagnosis, and diagnostic errors research. He completed his undergraduate studies at Yale University, his medical degree at University of Pennsylvania, his residency training and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at Harvard University, his neuro-otology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and his doctoral degree in clinical research methods at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  

He has served as a full-time faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine since 2002. He is the David Robinson Professor of Vestibular Neurology and also holds appointments in Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Emergency Medicine, Acute Care Nursing, Health Sciences Informatics, Epidemiology, and Health Policy & Management at Johns Hopkins.   

Dr. Newman-Toker is a bedside-to-populations translational researcher, with a focus on eliminating diagnostic errors and achieving diagnostic excellence. He is a leader in the national and international movements to eliminate patient harms from diagnostic error. Dr. Newman-Toker’s clinical focus is on diagnosis of acute disorders affecting the brainstem and cranial nerves, particularly stroke. He is recognized for his research in novel eye-movement-based bedside methods for diagnosing stroke in patients with acute dizziness and vertigo in the emergency department and, in 2024, won the international Bárány Society’s Hallpike-Nylén Prize for clinical research achievement.  

Dr. Newman-Toker serves as director of the Division of Neuro-Visual & Vestibular Disorders in the Department of Neurology. He also directs the Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence, whose mission is to catalyze efforts to improve diagnostic performance, develop the science of diagnostic safety, and enhance diagnostic research. He has been the principal investigator on numerous National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and foundation grants. He has published over 165 journal articles and given more than 300 invited lectures. He has served as an expert consultant on diagnostic safety and quality to AHRQ, the National Quality Forum, and the National Academy of Medicine. He has testified before Congress on the use of artificial intelligence for medical diagnosis. He was president of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine from 2018-2020.