Richard Scolyer, Australian of the Year 2024 and Pathologist, Dies

Key facts

• Richard Scolyer, a globally recognised pathologist and co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), has died at the age of 59.
• He was named the Australian of the Year in 2024 alongside Professor Georgina Long for their transformative research in the field of skin cancer.
• The research conducted by Scolyer and Long on immunotherapy has significantly improved the survival rate for advanced melanoma patients globally, increasing it from less than 10% to 50%.
• In 2023, he became the first brain cancer patient to receive a world-first experimental treatment for glioblastoma involving combination, pre-surgery immunotherapy and a personalised vaccine.
• The findings from his experimental treatment have led to the initiation of an early-stage clinical trial in the United States (US) to further investigate the efficacy of the protocol.