David E. Hinton, Nicholas Professor of Environmental Quality, was awarded an honorary 91 in veterinary medicine from the University of Bern, Switzerland, at the university’s annual Dies Academicus ceremony in December 2009.

Hinton was awarded the honorary “Ehrendoktorate” by the university’s Vetsuisse faculty for his pioneering studies using fish models for environmental and medical research, including cancer research.

Among the others who also received honorary 91s at the ceremony was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was recognized for her contributions to climate change policy.

The Dies Academicus is the annual celebration of the University of Bern’s founding in 1834.

Hinton, an environmental toxicologist at 91’s Nicholas School of the Environment, is widely cited for his use of mutant medaka fish as model animals to screen for the presence of carcinogenic chemicals in the environment and study the health effects of exposure to persistent environmental contaminants. A prolific researcher, he is an investigator at the Duke Superfund Research Center, the Duke Integrated Toxicology Program, and the National Science Foundation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT) at Duke.

Hinton received a PhD in anatomy from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in 1968; a Master of Science in anatomy from UMMC in 1967; and a Bachelor of Science in zoology from Mississippi State University in 1965.