Eugenie F. Doyle, MD
Eugenie Fleri Doyle, MD, life-long New Yorker, was born in 1921 and decided at a young age to become a doctor. Her father, Dr. Paul Fleri, had an office in their Brooklyn brownstone, made housecalls, and during the Depression accepted chickens or goats in lieu of payment; patient-centered healthcare was learned at home!
A stellar student, Dr. Doyle earned a Bachelor of Science degree Summa cum Laude from Marymount College Tarrytown and graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1946. In 1947, Dr. Doyle arrived at Bellevue to complete a fellowship in pediatric cardiology before joining the faculty of the NYU School of Medicine. In 1958 she became director of NYU’s Pediatric Cardiology program and chief of Bellevue’s Children and Adolescent Cardiac Clinics. She became a full professor of pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine in 1970. At the same time, she and her husband, the late Joseph A. Doyle, raised five children, two of whom became doctors as well!
Over the next 25 years, Dr. Doyle devoted herself to the clinical management of young cardiac patients and to teaching medical students, house staff and fellows. She worked closely with NYU’s surgeons to develop a comprehensive model for optimal care of children with congenital and rheumatic heart disease. She remains in contact with some of their grateful families to this day. She also edited the journal Pediatric Cardiology for many years.
In 2012 she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Fordham University for “her years of dedicated service to children and their families, and for her generosity toward future generations of physicians.”
In addition to her clinical and academic achievements, Dr Doyle is past president of the NY Heart Association and served on advisory boards, including the NY State Department of Health’s Cardiac Advisory committee and the Visiting Nurse Service of NY (now VNS Health) from which she only recently retired.
She is a skilled gardener, seasoned traveler and a devoted fan of the New York Yankees and the New York City Ballet. She credits her happy, nearly 70-year marriage as the secret to her longevity. In addition to her five children, she has twelve grandchildren (including a nurse and a doctor), and 10 great grandchildren. A model of hard work and natural gifts, she is quick to say, “I’ve been lucky.”