 Madras earned a BSc in biochemistry with honors from McGill University in 1963.As a J.B. Collip Fellow of the Faculty of Medicine, she was awarded a PhD in biochemistry (metabolism and pharmacology, including hallucinogens) from McGill University in 1967.She completed postdoctoral fellowships in biochemistry at Tufts University/Cornell University Medical College (1966–1967) as well as at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1967–1969).