Richard Scolyer, an Australian pathologist and melanoma researcher, died on June 7, 2026, at age 59.
Born in Launceston in 1966, he became a senior staff specialist in tissue pathology and diagnostic oncology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a conjoint professor at the University of Sydney. Scolyer combined clinical work with melanoma research at the Melanoma Institute Australia, where he helped lead a translational research laboratory.
He and Georgina Long were named Australians of the Year in 2024. He also authored more than 700 publications and book chapters and served as an editor of the fourth edition of the World Health Organization classification of tumours of the central nervous system.