Distinguished ophthalmologist returns to Tulane School of Medicine

An outstanding physician in the field of eye health will soon return to Tulane University School of Medicine. David Hinkle, MD, will be named the Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology, a new position established by a generous gift from Elizabeth Dabezies Goodyear and Charles W. Goodyear.

Hinkle comes back to Tulane from West Virginia University School of Medicine, where he served as an associate professor. He attended medical school and completed an internship in internal medicine at WVU after earning a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering with honors from Case Western Reserve University, where he was a Provost Scholar. Hinkle also completed an ophthalmology residency and served as chief resident at the School of Medicine, along with an ocular immunology and uveitis fellowship at Harvard Medical School and a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at Albany Medical College.  

“I look forward to welcoming Dr. Hinkle back to our faculty. His experience and connections will be tremendous assets as he elevates Tulane ophthalmology to the next level, and we are proud to bring him back so he can do so for the New Orleans region,” said Lee Hamm, MD, senior vice president and dean of the School of Medicine.

“I am thrilled to return to Tulane and look forward to leading the department in advancing the mission of patient care, education and research.”

David Hinkle, MD

Hinkle has already earned a number of honors during his medical career. He was chosen to complete the Physician Leadership Development Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute while serving as director of the Retina Service and ambulatory physician leader for the UMass Memorial Eye Center. Hinkle was chosen as the Tulane Eye Alumni of the Year in 2011, and received the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award in 2016 and the WVU Eye Institute Teacher of the Year award in 2019.   

Hinkle’s clinical and research interests include complex vitreoretinal surgery, drug- and vaccine-induced ocular inflammatory disease, infectious uveitis and big data analytics, including NIH grant support for machine learning. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts and book chapters and participated in over 30 clinical trials.

“I am thrilled to return to Tulane and look forward to leading the department in advancing the mission of patient care, education and research,” Hinkle said. “Tulane ophthalmology is well positioned for growth that will benefit the residents of New Orleans.”

The Dabezies Chair is a new endowed position made possible by a gift from Elizabeth Dabezies Goodyear and her husband, Charles W. Goodyear, in honor of her father, Dr. Oliver Dabezies, and his wife. Dabezies was a graduate and longtime professor at Tulane University School of Medicine. The gift will support the chair holder’s work in clinical practice, research, professional development or service.