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A state funeral for Professor Richard Scolyer will be held in two weeks at the Sydney Opera House.
December 12, 2025.STEVEN SIEWERT
Scolyer, who was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2021, was a world-leading cancer researcher and clinician whose work helped to save thousands of lives from melanoma.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2023 and he became the first brain cancer patient in the world to undergo experimental neoadjuvant immunotherapy treatment, based on the melanoma science he had helped develop. He was named joint 2024 Australian of the Year with co-researcher Georgina Long. He shared his brain cancer journey to give others hope and insight.
Scolyer’s commitment to and advocacy for his profession, coupled with an enthusiasm for life, and his empathy and his humanity, resonated broadly and left a lasting legacy.
Scolyer was married to pathologist Katie Nicoll and they had three children, Emily, Matthew and Lucy. Scolyer died from cancer on June 7, 2026, at the age of 59, three years after his first diagnosis.
The doors will open at 9.30am for the 11am service on July 13 at the Sydney Opera House.
Free tickets for the service are available via the Sydney Opera House website.
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