It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden and untimely passing of our beloved Danica Stanimirović. Danica passed on January, 17 2024 at the Ottawa General Hospital.
Danica’s life was nothing short of exceptional anyway you look at it.
Danica got the very first public acknowledgment of her talent for math and science in her native Serbia in 1977 when selected, after a grueling entrance exam, as one of only 120 freshmen students of the prestigious Belgrade Mathematical Grammar School. Danica very soon realized that the life has way more to offer besides the “core business” of math and science (in both of which she naturally excelled). During her teenage years, Danica developed love for art. Her literary work was awarded on numerous occasions during her high school and university years. Unknown to many, Danica was also part of a very vibrant Belgrade punk scene in the early 1980s as a keyboard player for a local band named “We want no compromises”. Indeed, throughout her life, she was never willing to make any compromise when it came to her professional or personal integrity.
Danica began her very successful studies of Medicine in 1981 followed immediately by her Ph.D. studies that she pursued in parallel with her clinical residency activities. In 1988 she became the youngest Ph.D. holder in former Yugoslavia, a country of some 23 million souls.
Danica began her North American scientific career in 1991 by successfully completing a two-year postdoctoral stunt at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Her work didn’t get unnoticed by the NRC management and, in the summer of 1993, Danica and her husband Dusan moved North to Ottawa where she would spend over 30 years with the NRC until her untimely departure this past Wednesday.
During her 31 year tenure with the National Research Council in Ottawa, she achieved everything that can be reasonably expected of a human being. At the time of her premature death she was the Director of the NRC’s Translational Bioscience Department where she has led strategic NRC Programs and served on Scientific Advisory Boards of many biopharma companies and numerous international R&D initiatives. Danica was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. The Government of Canada recognized her achievements by awarding her the Public Service Award of Excellence in 2023. Danica has authored over 170 manuscripts and holds 22 patents in the field of integrative neuroscience.
While, without a shadow of a doubt, a top notch neuroscientist and a leader, Danica was foremost an exceptional human being. Shy and modest beyond reasonable, Danica would avoid bringing up any of her professional achievements as topics of conversation. It was art, gardening and travels that she enjoyed to chat about. Unconditionally devoted to her husband Dusan, Danica was respected for her intelligence and wisdom and truly loved, by anyone who knew her, for the largesse of her pristine soul.
She was predeceased by her parents Emilija and Branislav. Danica is survived by her husband of 32 years, Dušan Đurić, and her younger brother Dušan Stanimirović (Svjetlana). Danica was the proud aunt of Uroš and Luka.
Visitation will be held at the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa, on Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 2PM. A Memorial Service will follow in the Sacred Space at 3:00PM, followed by a reception. For those not able to attend the Service in person, the Service will be Live Streamed - you may register here.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Danica Stanimirović Memorial Fund.
Digital Guestbook
G. King Farrington
Nancy Mac Donald
I met few times Danica and it was always easy to discuss with her.
My deepest condolences to her family
Seema Bissoon-Haqqani
Dana was an exemplary role model as a leader in science. This is a great loss to the scientific community. I have fond memories of my time as a post-doc in her research group; she was always so supportive. I will always remember Dana's brilliance, warmth and generosity.
Seema Bissoon-Haqqani
Dana was an exemplary role model as a leader in science. I have fond memories of my time as a post-doc in her research group; she was so supportive. I will always remember her brilliance, warmth and generosity. May she continue to inspire us to be dedicated in our science and kind in our interactions. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this time.
Abraham Al-Ahmad, PhD
Thank you Dr. Stanimirovic for your great contribution to our community, by being an important trailblazer in working on delivering drugs and biologics across the blood-brain barrier. Your keynotes lectures at scientific meetings were insightful, innovative and remarkable in helping us understand about identifying new receptors for drug delivery, in particular when it came to antibodies. Your absence will be felt, but your memory will prevail.
Abraham.
Julie Ducharme
My heartfelt condolences to Dana's husband and family, and to all her friends and colleagues at the NRC and everywhere - we are so sad to lose a great mind, a great friend, an inspiration to us all. Notre chagrin est grand.
Jane Lecours
My heartfelt condolences to Danica’s husband, family, friends and colleagues. Dana was an influential member of HHT's leadership team and an inspiring scientist. I was priviledged to work with her. She was a kind soul; always had the best interest at heart for all her employees. She will leave a big void in the HHT family but will definitely not be forgotten. Continue painting the sky! RIP Dana
Jane
Dan Small
Incredibly tragic loss. Dana was a great scientist and very thoughtful person who was compassionate but also very driven. Extraordinary accomplishments and a mentor and leader to many. I shall always cherish the time I spent working with Dana at NRC. She will be greatly missed.
Jamie Hutchison
Dear Dana
It was a pleasure and a privilege to learn from you and be inspired by you for more than 20 years. You represent to me what are the most important principals of research: Passion, Integrity, Trust and Collaboration. You made so many contributions to science! They are currently, and will continue to, improve patient outcomes.
I cannot believe you have left this earth prematurely. I miss you but will continue to be inspired by you!
Ruth Slack
My sincere condolences to Danica's family and friends. Such a tragic loss -- Danica was taken too soon. Danica will continue to inspire us all for many years to come.
Ruth
I had the pleasure of working with Danica for many years during my time at Biogen. She was both an exceptional scientist