It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Eva V. Dubovsky, M.D., Ph.D., who passed away on Saturday, July 29th. She was a remarkable woman and accomplished physician who made so many lives better, including patients, trainees, and colleagues. She will be missed. 

Dubovsky was born on August 5, 1933 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She received her medical degree from Charles University in Prague. She moved to the United States with her husband and two children in 1968.

She was known for her extraordinarily high level of intelligence, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and work ethic. She was a compassionate physician who cared deeply for her patients and held their interest at the forefront of her mind at all times.

Before joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Radiology on January 1, 1973, Dubovsky served on the Department of Medicine faculty for three years in the division of endocrinology. She served as the director of the division of nuclear medicine from 1982 to 2001 and held the rank of professor since 1980. Although she formerly retired on December 31, 2003 and was designated professor emeritus on January 1, 2004, she continued to work and teach in some capacity in the department.

“I have come to have a deep regard and respect for her as a person, distinguished clinician, dedicated teacher, and respected clinical investigator in the world of nuclear medicine” said Robert E. Koehler, M.D., former professor and interim chairman in 2003.

Dubovsky came from a prominent Czech academic medical family. Her brother, Dr. Jiri Vitek, also worked in Radiology at UAB for many years as a brilliant neuro-interventionalist, her husband, Dr. Jiri Dubovsky, was an endocrinologist at UAB, and her son, Dr. Filip Dubovsky, received his medical degree from UAB. The institution allowed her family to rebuild their professional lives after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 made them unexpected political refugees.

Dubovsky was the author or co-author of over 128 articles in scientific literature, 42 book chapters, and four complete textbooks. She was invited to numerous chapters and societies throughout the country and the world as an invited guest or keynote speaker. She also served as a visiting professor at many medical centers in the United States.

Dubovsky was “a very nice and compassionate colleague and mentor with unparalleled work ethic” said Pradeep G. Bhambhvani, director of theranostics and professor in the division of molecular imaging and therapeutics. She will be missed by the trainees and colleagues.”