Dr Hinshaw was born in Durham, North Carolina. He graduated from Durham High School and was awarded a BS with Distinction in Chemistry by Duke University in Durham. He received a PhD in biomimetic synthetic organic chemistry from Stanford University in Stanford, California, and thereafter practiced as a medicinal research chemist at the Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute in East Greenbush, New York. He earned the MD degree cum laude from the Albany Medical College in Albany, New York and at the same time held the positions of assistant research professor of biochemistry at the College and associate research chemist at the New York State Health Department. His four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology was at the Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he served as administrative chief resident.