Dave received his undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College and his M.D. from Hahnemann University Medical School in 1984. He won the Van Hammett Clinic Award and numerous commendations in clinical psychiatry.

After his internship, he began a career in medical communications with the American College of Physicians (ACP), serving first as a writer and editor, producing press releases, news articles for members, and "hot topics" briefings from articles submitted to the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Dave went on to become a policy analyst for ACP, developing position papers on geriatrics training for internal medicine residents and problems in the veterans' administration healthcare system.

Dave also is a martial arts specialist and continues to train and teach.