Maria B. Majella Doyle, MD, MBA, who is the Mid-America Transplant/Department of Surgery Distinguished Endowed Chair in Abdominal Transplantation at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, served as the 2025 president of the Western Surgical Association (WSA).
As president, Doyle led the WSA—an association dedicated to the cultivation, promotion, and diffusion of the art and science of surgery—and presided over the 133rd annual meeting, held in Scottsdale, AZ this Nov.
At the annual meeting, Doyle delivered the Presidential Address, entitled “Tools for Today’s Surgeon – An Modh Feasa.”
“It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve as president of such an esteemed organization,” said Doyle, noting the importance of such organizations for advancing the field of surgery. “The great science of medical technology can only be accomplished by great vision.”
Doyle has held numerous leadership positions within the Department of Surgery at WashU Medicine. She currently serves as executive vice chair of the department.
She has played an active role in national transplant and HPB surgery organizations, including as a councilor of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and former president of the Americas Hepatopancreaticobiliary Association. Doyle received the 2025 Francis Moore Excellence in Mentorship in the Field of Transplantation Surgery award from the ASTS for her stewardship of fellowship trainees and junior faculty.
Doyle earned her medical degree and completed the Irish General Surgical Training Program at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She also completed a research fellowship in the Department of Academic Surgery at Cork University. She completed fellowships in both HPB-GI and transplant surgery at WashU Medicine and earned a master’s degree in business administration from WashU.
“Dr. Doyle is an essential part of what makes transplant surgery at WashU Medicine exceptional,” said William Chapman, MD, who serves as director of the Division of General Surgery, chief of the Section of Transplant Surgery, and the Eugene M. Bricker Professor of Surgery at WashU Medicine. “Every day she proves her expertise and commitment to making a difference in the lives of patients under her care and around the world.”
Doyle continues the legacy of surgeons from WashU Medicine leading prominent national organizations, including Chapman, who served as WSA president in 2015 and received the WSA J. Bradley Aust award in 1999.
Additionally, transplant surgeon Jennifer Yu, MD, who serves as director of the general surgery residency program at WashU Medicine, was elected as a member of the WSA at the 2024 annual meeting.