David Ralph Hinton M.D. FARVO

1954 - 2022

It is with great sadness that we share the news of David's death on June 7, 2022 surrounded and supported by members of his Californian and Canadian family.

David was Professor of Pathology; Gavin S. Herbert, Professorship in Vision Research; Associate Dean for Vision Science; Vice Chair of Pathology; Director, Keck School of Medicine of USC/CalTech MD/PhD; Program; Director, Dean's Research Scholars Program. David was a founding member of the Beckman Macular Research Center. His death interrupts a remarkably prolific career.

Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, David graduated from the University of Toronto in 1978 with a medical degree. In 1983, he completed a combined residency/fellowship in neuropathology in Toronto, and then moved to California to do a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. In 1988, he joined the Department of Pathology at USC, where he remained for his entire career.

David was a pioneering scientist whose focus was on understanding the pathology of eye diseases. His research was groundbreaking and helped increase our understanding of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and in particular, the central role of the retinal pigment epithelium in this blinding disease that affects millions worldwide. David, along with Mark Humayun of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Dennis Clegg of University of Santa Barbara, founded a startup company called Regenerative Patch Technologies in order to start an investigational clinical trial using stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium implants for patients with advanced AMD to help restore their eyesight. The results of this trial, albeit early stage, have been remarkable - restoring sight to some patients for whom there was no foreseeable cure.

A prolific and well-funded researcher, David authored nearly 400 peer reviewed publications and articles in high impact journals, many abstracts, and book chapters and was also co-author of the award-winning "Ryan's Retina" textbook. David's work was cited nearly 10,000 times by other researchers. In 2017, David was inducted into the USC Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors, and the same year received a Technology Innovation Award for "Stem Cell-Based Treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration".

David was a highly valued mentor, overseeing the training of hundreds of students, postdocs, residents, and fellows. He was the recipient of dozens of teaching awards (he was designated a "Master Teacher" at the Keck School of Medicine in 2008) and made lasting contributions to the Neuroscience System in the medical school curriculum.

In recent years, David took on two academic roles at the Keck School of Medicine that became very important to him personally: leadership of the joint USC/CalTech MD/PhD program, and the Dean's Research Scholars program, which supported a fifth research year for medical students. As a physician scientist himself, his support and experience were profoundly helpful to these trainees, and he found his interactions with these future biomedical researchers to be immensely rewarding.

David was Vice Chair of Pathology from 2004 until the present, and served as the chair of the Pathology Appointments and Promotions Committee, the Faculty Advisory Committee, and the Pathology Research Committee. He also served as Associate Dean for Vision Science in the KSOM from 2013 until the present.

Despite increasingly difficult health issues that began in 2018, David continued to publish, research, administrate and teach at USC. His colleagues and students remember him for his brilliant mind, his humility, kindness, and sense of fun.

David loved to travel and experience other people, places and food. His travels took him to places near and far and even included once driving from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. Ramon shared his passion for travel, and together they visited six continents for medical conferences, fashion shows and culture.

A big man with big dreams, he came to California as so many have to make them happen. Here he met his life partner Ramon, and together they made homes in Venice and Palm Springs. He became part of a whole new Californian family and lived his American dream.

He leaves to mourn his loving husband and partner of over 25 years, Ramon Campos Salazar, their beloved dog RJ and his brothers Michael [Debbie - Montreal, Quebec], Stephen [Susan MacDonald - Kingston, Ontario], Peter [Haui Davis, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario] and Ramon's brothers and sisters Pilar Chavez [Eddie], Rosa Villalobos [Oscar], Salvador [Anna], Joel, and Maggie Yanez [David] in Visalia, California and his many nieces and nephews, friends and colleagues in Canada, the United States and around the world. He is predeceased by his father Dr Norman Hinton, also a medical researcher, his mother Clare, his youngest brother Richard [Cathy, Toronto, Ontario], and his mother-law Maria Campos [Visalia, California].

David's family and friends will be gathering to mourn and celebrate his life at 2pm on August 19th at the Mayer Auditorium, Keck School of Medicine, USC, Keith Administration Building, 1975 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

In lieu of flowers, the family would want friends and colleagues to honor his life and work by considering donating to the Dean's Medical Scholarship Fund: https://keck.usc.edu/giving/support-medical-education. When making your gift, please donate in honor of Dr. David Ralph Hinton.

The family would like to sincerely thank USCs Keck School of Medicine's Ernesto Barron, Dr. Mark Humayun, Dr. Judy Garner and Dr. Michael Selsted for contributing to this piece.