Danara Pel Doctor Danara Pel was a Vidiian female hematologist who lived during the mid - 24th century . Pel had an uncle named Shmullus , who used to make her laugh . Pel later contracted the Phage at age seven and began receiving replacement tissue at that time . At some point , she required use of a cortical stimulator to compensate for some of her damaged brain tissue . While returning from Fina Prime in 2372 , where she was helping to treat an outbreak of the Phage , she began suffering effects associated with the advanced stages of the disease , leading to a degradation of her neural patterns when the brain tissue linked to her cortical stimulator began to break down . She sent out a distress call , which was responded to by the , and she was promptly beam ed aboard . In an attempt to save Pel ' s life , The Doctor put her body into stasis and used the cortical stimulator to transfer her brain patterns into a holographic body based on his own to prevent the collapse of her mind , giving him time to come up with an alternative treatment while also collaborating with her to acquire more detailed information about the disease . Taking advantage of the time this allowed him , The Doctor convinced B ' Elanna Torres to donate some of her Klingon tissue , previously proven at least partially resistant to the Phage , to be grafted onto Pel ' s brain and hopefully cure the damage the disease had caused to her brain . While Pel and The Doctor waited to see if the procedure worked , they developed feelings for each other , Pel appreciating The Doctor ' s sense of humour and compassion while The Doctor admired her medical abilities and willingness to be open with him ; Pel even took to calling The Doctor " Shmullus " , after her favourite uncle , one of the few names he used more than once . Initially , Pel was reluctant to begin a relationship , unused to compliments due to her generally repulsive appearance , and rejected The Doctor ' s initial advances , but after Pel had talked with Kes and The Doctor had taken relationship advice from Tom Paris , the two of them gave it another shot and began a relationship . The procedure to cure Pel ' s damaged brain tissue proved a success , but she was reluctant to return to her ravaged body and she tried to sabotage the procedure . Ultimately , The Doctor did convince her to return to her body and continue her work in finding a cure for the Phage , subsequently sharing a dance with her on the holodeck in Sandrine ' s in her real body before she had to depart . ( ) Later that year , The Doctor contacted her for information on a poison ous insect that had infected Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay . Even though her superiors tried to attack " Voyager " , she managed to get the antiviral serum to The Doctor , calling him " Shmullus " once more before they parted ways for good as " Voyager " fled the attack . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Danara Pel was played by actress Susan Diol . Dr . Pel ' s holographic form was the only instance seen depicting a healthy Vidiian . It may be inferred that The Doctor and Danara may have had sexual relations during their relationship based on dialogue in where The Doctor , while talking with the EMH Mark II , mentions that he has engaged in sexual activity . Danara is perhaps the only woman who was shown to have been involved with The Doctor in that sense . It is also possible that The Doctor may have done so with his wife , Charlene , from his holo - family seen in . Pel ' s costume from the episode was sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay . Apocrypha . Danara appears briefly in the " " novel " Shadow of Heaven " , where she has been captured by one of the races angry at the Vidiians for their past treatment of other races despite the Phage being cured by the Think Tank - this treatment being worsened by the mutated dark matter contaminating the universe - until she is rescued by the evolved Kes .