Dr Ria David was born in the city of Durban and matriculated at Glenhaven Secondary in Verulam. After graduating as a medical doctor (MBChB) at the University of Natal in 2002, she moved to Cape Town for a year to complete an internship at Groote Schuur Hospital. In 2004 she returned to KwaZulu Natal to serve the community of Umkhanyakude in northern KZN at Bethesda Hospital. Following this, Dr Ria David worked at McCord Hospital, Durban where she discovered a love for internal medicine. This newfound interest took her to the University of Witwatersrand (2007-2013) where she completed her specialist training in internal medicine (FCP(SA)) on the Johannesburg circuit and went on to super-specialize in medical oncology (Cert Med Onc (SA)) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital .

As a medical oncologist, her expertise lies in the holistic, systemic management of cancer patients. Dr Ria David has special interests in breast-, colorectal-, and haematological (blood) malignancies. She is a committee member of the Durban Breast Cancer Forum.