‘Brave. Thoughtful. Talented. Inspiring’: Montreal neuroscientist dead at 43

Dr. Nadia Chaudhri, 43, passed away on Oct. 5, more than a year after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 

A Montreal professor who spent her final weeks paving the way for others as she faced end-stage cancer has died.

“Brave. Thoughtful. Talented. Inspiring. Nadia Chaudhri — a Concordia professor, neuroscientist, mother and wife — will be remembered as much for how she lived to how she fearlessly shared her final days on Twitter and with media,” a post published on Concordia University’s website reads.

Chaudhri, 43, passed away on Oct. 5, more than a year after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

From her palliative care bed at the McGill University Health Centre, Chaudhri raised funds for a scholarship in her name to support minority and historically marginalized students in neuroscience.

She also gained legions of followers on Twitter where she chronicled her journey with a terminal diagnosis, sharing not only moments of vulnerability, but also of great strength and joy.

Chaudhri used her large social media following as an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of ovarian cancer and the importance of advocating for yourself, as well as the need for more research.

Chaudhri leaves behind her husband and six-year-old boy — whom she referred to lovingly as her ‘sun and moon’ — as well as numerous colleagues, friends and thousands of strangers on Twitter whose lives she touched.