Joseph T. Doyle M.D.

Doyle, Joseph T., M.D. ALBANY Joseph T. Doyle, M.D., 89, of Albany, died Monday, June 18, 2007 at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. Dr. Doyle was born and raised in Providence, R.I., graduating from Classical High School in 1935. He received his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1939 and his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1943. After completing an internship at Boston City Hospital, he entered the United States Army Medical Corps. Following the war, he returned to Boston to complete his training in medicine, serving as chief resident at BCH from 1948 to 1949. He completed his postgraduate training as the Whitehead fellow in physiology from 1949 to 1950 at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Following teaching appoint-ments at Emory and later at Duke University, Dr. Doyle was recruited to Albany in 1952 to create and direct the Cardiovascular Health Center. The CHC was one of the pivotal cardiovascular epidemiology projects that led to much of our current understanding of cardiovascular disease. The CHC was initiated under the Dewey administration and continued under Dr. Doyle's continuous leadership for 38 years from its inception in 1952 until funding cuts forced its closure in 1990. Dr. Doyle was the dean of Albany's cardiology community, having served on the Albany Medical College faculty since 1952 and achieving the rank of full professor in 1961. From 1960 through 1984, he served as head of the division of cardiology for the college and the Albany Medical Center Hospital. Dr. Doyle's contributions to the local community and to New York State included service as president of the Medical Society of Albany County, as president of the Heart Association of Eastern New York, as a member of the cardiac advisory committee of the New York State Health Department and the committees on cardiovascular disease and medical school relationships for the Medical Society of the State of New York. He served as the committee chair of the committee on conduct of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct. He was a former governor of Upstate New York for the American College of Cardiology. His national contributions included service as chairman of the American Heart Association's council on epidemiology and as a member of the committee on smoking. He was a consultant to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. Dr. Doyle was the author of over 130 publications, many the products of his research as the director of the CHC. His landmark articles in the New Eng1and Journal of Medicine in 1962 and in Journal of the American Medical Association in 1964 first alerted the world to the association between cigarette smoking and coronary heart disease. His publications using the combined data from the CHC and Framingham Heart studies resulted in our knowledge of the risk factors associated with sudden cardiac death, of the risk associated with a low HDL level, and of the perceived health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption on raising HDL levels. For 55 years, Dr. Doyle was a tireless servant to the people of the Capital District, the State of New York, the Nation and, through his landmark research, the world. He also was a member of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, as well as the Great Lakes Inter-Urban Club, the Fort Orange Club, and Schuyler Meadows Country Club. He also enjoyed woodworking and making pottery. Dr. Doyle was predeceased by his first wife, Elizabeth Thompson Doyle, in 1975. He is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Joan Mastrianni Doyle; his son, Michael K. Doyle (Stephenie) of Purcellville, Va.; his daughter, Shelagh T. Doyle of New York, N.Y.; his stepchildren Theresa M. Mastrianni of Pelham Manor, N.Y., Mary Cullinan (Thomas) of Slingerlands, Joan Hopkins (Daniel) of Syracuse, Michael J. Mastrianni (Stephanie) of Wellesley, Mass., Paul F. Mastrianni (Terry) of Clifton Park, John J. Mastrianni (Mary-beth) of Slingerlands, Jerome A. Mastrianni (Linda) of Guilderland, and Mark J. Mastrianni (Laura) of Natick, Mass.; his grandchildren, Shelby Elizabeth Doyle and Joseph K. Doyle, Moira Griffiths, Margaret and Thomas Cullinan, Lauren and Thomas Hopkins, Luke and James Mastrianni, Alan and Saverio Mastrianni, Johanna and Shawna Leonard, Matthew and John Mastrianni, Alyssa and Nicholas Mastrianni, and Zachary and Madeline Mastrianni; and by his dear friend and longtime administrative assistant, Donna Hart. Funeral services will be held in the Hans Funeral Home, 1088 Western Ave., Albany Friday morning at 9:00 and from there to the Church of St. Vincent De-Paul, Madison Ave. and Partridge St. at 10:00. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the funeral home Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Interment in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery, Colonie. Those who wish may make memorial contributions to the Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY 12208 or to a charity of your choice.