Overview
- A state memorial for Professor Richard Scolyer was held on Monday at the Sydney Opera House with about 2,500 people in the Concert Hall and tributes from the Governor‑General, the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier.
- Professor Scolyer, who died on June 7 after a three‑year battle with Grade 4 glioblastoma, publicly documented his illness and pursued a world‑first immunotherapy regimen that combined three drugs before surgery plus a personalised vaccine.
- He was a world‑leading melanoma pathologist whose research and clinical work helped turn advanced melanoma from a frequent death sentence into a treatable disease and earned him, with colleague Georgina Long, the 2024 Australian of the Year honour.
- Chris O'Brien Lifehouse announced a $5.9 million gift to create an endowed chair and a research team in Scolyer's name to expand clinical trials and brain cancer research, and organisers urged donations to the Brain Cancer Group and Lifehouse.
- Scolyer's public openness, bestselling memoir, and late fundraising efforts such as the Tour de Cure rides helped mobilise public support and may boost trial enrolment and sustained funding for experimental brain‑tumour treatments.