Obituary: Richard Scolyer was pioneering melanoma pathologist and researcher

Former Australian of the Year Professor Richard Scolyer, who spent decades pioneering lifesaving treatments for melanoma, has died from the aggressive brain cancer he battled since 2023. He was 59.

His death was announced by his family on Sunday. He is survived by wife Katie Nicholl, and their three children, Emily, Matthew and Lucy.

Scolyer, a pathologist who devoted much of his working life to curing melanoma, which had an almost 100 per cent death rate once it spread to other organs, used his many years of research to treat the incurable grade 4 glioblastoma he was diagnosed with after suffering a seizure during a medical conference in Poland in June 2023.

He forewent the usual treatment for his type of cancer and instead became the first person to receive the immunotherapy he helped develop as co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia in an effort to prolong his life.

He achieved that, surviving past the initial six- to nine-month prognosis before the glioblastoma returned in early 2025.

Just days after undergoing surgery, he told Nine’s A Current Affair he didn’t know how long he had left.

“It could be a few weeks, it could be a few months, it could be longer. I don’t know.

“I feel sad. I’m not ready to go yet. I love my life,” he continued, before adding he felt “lucky” that the treatment gave him an extra year with his family, including wife Katie and three children, as well as his friends, work colleagues and others.

Read more

PM confirms state funeral for beloved doctor Richard Scolyer

He continued to fight, then in March came the news that his cancer had progressed further.

“Not the best day ever,” he wrote on Facebook. 

“Today I had another scan of my brain followed by further discussions with the neuro-oncology team, who continue their wonderful care. 

“There seems to be further progression of my brain tumour (glioblastoma) affecting brain functioning (as me and a few close friends can feel/see). 

“Whilst it is a bit disappointing, in the big picture it’s not the end of the road and I’ve got more to do! 

“I love and enjoy challenges. I certainly haven’t stopped yet. Hopefully, I can share more special times with family and friends, and continue to advocate for cancer patients.” 

Early life

Scolyer was born on December 16, 1966, in Launceston, Tasmania.

After school, he attended the University of Tasmania, graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science in 1987, and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1990.

He went on to specialise in pathology and became a senior staff specialist working in tissue pathology and diagnostic oncology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and was a conjoint professor at the University of Sydney.

But it was his 2017 appointment to the role of co-medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia alongside Professor Georgina Long that put him in the spotlight.

He co-led its award-winning translational melanoma research laboratory, which saw advanced melanoma cases go from being a death sentence to a potentially treatable disease in less than a decade.

Read more

Vale Professor Richard Scolyer: Read his open letter to Australia

Its pioneering immunotherapy treatment saw the five-year survival rate in advanced melanoma patients improve from less than 5 per cent to more than 50 per cent.

Scolyer co-authored more than 916 peer-reviewed publications, books and chapters in prestigious journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Nature and Cell.

In 2022, he was ranked the sixth leading melanoma expert globally, as well as the world’s leading melanoma pathologist.

In 2021, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to medicine, particularly in the field of melanoma and skin cancer” as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours and in 2024, Scolyer and Long were named joint 2024 Australians of the Year for their work.

Brain cancer diagnosis

In June 2023, Scolyer announced he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable grade 4 brain cancer, after falling ill while in Poland for work.

Faced with certain death in a matter of months if he followed the regular treatment protocol, he instead put his trust in Long, who devised an experimental treatment plan for her colleague based on their previous melanoma research.

He delayed surgery and instead became the first brain cancer patient in the world to trial pre-surgery combination immunotherapy.

As part of his treatment, he also received a personalised “anti-cancer vaccine” to boost the cancer-detecting powers of the immunotherapy drugs.

Throughout his treatment, Scolyer provided regular updates to the public about his progress, and celebrated each time a scan showed no recurrence of the disease.

However, in February 2025, scans showed changes in his brain which indicated the tumour had returned.

Scolyer announced he had undergone “complex” brain surgery in March 2025 and that a “larger volume of quickly growing” glioblastoma had been found on the left side of his brain.

“The prognosis is poor,” he said, adding he remained “proud of the data” produced as a result of his experimental treatment, “which I hope will make a difference for others”.

“I greatly appreciate the support of all my family, friends and colleagues who have been looking after me so well and the incredible research that has been performed.

“I hope the latter will change the field and patient outcomes in the not-too-distant future.”

He appeared on Nine’s A Current Affair a week later to confirm the “heartbreaking” news his cancer had returned and tearfully told host Allison Langdon he might only have weeks to live.

“The most amazing thing that’s happened for me is I have had an opportunity to meet so many people in Australia that are making a big difference,” he said.

“It’s not fair but… there’s a lesson for everyone. You make the most of your life, your time, you just don’t know what’s going to happen around the corner.”

However, he did not give up. 

He continued to undergo treatment, enjoyed time with family and friends, travelled to Tasmania to ring in his father’s 90th birthday, celebrated his eldest daughter’s 21st and university graduation and even received a personally written message from King Charles.

He also stayed active, completing his 250th ParkRun event and taking part in the City2Surf, despite his brain cancer continuing to grow on both sides of his brain, requiring radiotherapy in October 2025.

Despite his worsening health, he managed to travel to Hobart in March 2026 to take part in the 2026 Tour de Cure Signature Tour, just days after revealing his cancer had progressed further.

In April, he returned to Instagram for the first time in six weeks to update his followers. 

“Hi everyone. I wanted to give you an update and let you know how things are going. Things have been getting a bit tougher for me over the past month or so, particularly with my energy levels and some memory problems. 

“But I’m still enjoying good times with family and friends. I’ve asked my family to continue to share my journey, even when I’m not able to do it well myself at times. Thanks for all the ongoing love and support.”

On May 30, his devoted wife Katie gave another update via social media.

“Things are steadily getting harder for Rich, and time with family and friends continues to be so important for us all. I know we’re not alone in this journey and we appreciate everyone’s continued love and support.”

Prior to learning his cancer had returned in 2025, Scolyer said he was proud to be part of the team that co-authored a research paper published in Nature Medicine in March 2025, which documented changes to his brain tumour and blood “before and after his groundbreaking treatment”.

He said he hoped a clinical trial of a large group of patients would begin in the not-too-distant future to determine if the treatment could prolong lives.

“I am very proud of the science that’s been generated and now published… in one of the world’s top journals,” he told A Current Affair.