Our friend and colleague Emily McIntosh passed away last week at her family home near Cornwall, Ontario.

Emily was a founding member of OICR’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), and helped build our patient partnership program into the success it is today. She also worked closely with the Window-of-Opportunity (WOO) Network, where her insights and honesty helped the program balance scientific objectives with the lived realities of patients.

Over five years collaborating with OICR, Emily made an indelible mark on this organization, our research, and perhaps most importantly, on the people around her. Generous with her time and deeply empathetic, Emily went out of her way to counsel and advocate for her fellow patients. She was the first to ask how you and your family were doing, despite navigating her own significant health challenges.

Diagnosed with brain cancer nine years ago, Emily approached every day, and every setback, with grace and humour. She was determined not to let cancer keep her from the things she loved, whether that was flying to the UK to see Oasis or spending quality time with her nieces, nephews and her corgi, Monty.

Emily brought that same determination to a wide range of patient advocacy work beyond OICR. She was an engagement ambassador with Brain Cancer Canada, and collaborated in various capacities with the Canadian Cancer Society and Clinical Trials Ontario. Emily was also a researcher herself, with a PhD in Human Health and Nutrition Sciences (Biomechanics), numerous published manuscripts, and a profound love of science. That she was able to complete her PhD and have a successful research career in the years since her cancer diagnosis is a testament to Emily’s tenacity.

We will remember Emily for her strength and her spirit. She was brilliant, funny and wise beyond her years. We will miss her, and our hearts go out to her family, friends and everyone who loved her.