Doris Honig Merritt

Doris M. Honig Merritt (July 16, 1923 – April 12, 2022) was an American physician and the first woman to serve on a board for the National Library of Medicine. Her contributions included serving as the first women on both the National Library of Medicine and the Assistant Dean of Medical research at Indiana University School of Medicine. Her inspiration to become a doctor came after serving in the Navy

Education Doris Merritt attended Hunter College of the University of the City of New York in 1944, where she studied English literature, graduating Cum Laude and as part of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She went on to medical school at The George Washington University School of Medicine in 1952, after completing pre-medical course from 1946 to 1948 in order to be eligible to apply.

Medical and administrative career After graduating from Medical school in 1952, she went on to complete a residency in Pediatrics at Duke University. She later became assistant resident in pediatrics at Duke University from 1954 to 1955. She finished up with her fellowship in pediatrics at Duke University from 1955 to 1956. After moving with her husband, she was named the director of Medical research grants and contracts at Indiana University School of medicine in 1961. Following that, in 1962 she became the first woman to be named Assistant Dean of Research at Indiana University School of Medicine and served in that position from 1962 to 1978 where she discovered her passion for administrative work in Fesler Hall, where her office was located.

In 2019 Merritt recorded an oral history interview currently held in the IUPUI eArchives.

Merritt died on April 12, 2022, at the age of 98.