All of us at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) and the wider melanoma community are mourning the loss of our esteemed colleague and friend, Professor Richard Scolyer AO.

Richard was a renowned pathologist and a world authority on skin cancer and melanoma diagnoses. His broad knowledge of and passion for pathology, along with his generous mentorship and teaching, have inspired many and transformed melanoma and skin cancer research and diagnosis across the globe.

Richard’s first position in 2001, after completing his pathology training, was as the inaugural Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research Institute Pathology Fellow, a role which saw him contribute significantly to building the world’s largest melanoma biospecimen bank, first established in 1998. The biobank today remains an invaluable resource that continues to facilitate melanoma research and treatment advances.

Through his leadership roles with the World Health Organization and as Vice Chair of the Melanoma Expert Panel for the American Joint Committee on Cancer, Richard shaped international standards for melanoma classification and staging. His 800 peer-reviewed publications substantially contributed to the scientific literature on melanoma biology, genetics, and pathological features.

Richard was an integral and esteemed part of MIA and the melanoma community for over two decades. His commitment to and advocacy for his profession, coupled with his enthusiasm for life and his genuine humanity, resonated broadly, and has left a lasting positive impact.

Richard served as Co-Medical Director of MIA for over seven years with Professor Georgina Long AO, and they also co-led MIA’s translational research laboratory at The University of Sydney. In 2024, Richard and Georgina were honoured to be named joint Australians of the Year – testament to their work in progressing MIA’s mission of zero deaths from melanoma.

Professor Long said:  “I am deeply saddened to lose such a cherished colleague. Richard was a truly extraordinary pathologist – the ‘pathologists’ pathologist’ – who also made generous time for clinicians navigating complex diagnostic cases, understanding that an accurate tissue diagnosis was critical to patient care. His knowledge was vast, his skill exceptional, with an unparalleled eye for accurate tissue diagnoses, and the precision to apply decades of experience where it mattered most.”

“He shared his expertise widely: through consultation on external specimens, through diagnostic and classification frameworks now used worldwide, and as a devoted teacher and mentor. Richard has left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of working alongside him.” 

MIA is proud to have instituted the Richard Scolyer Pathology Fellowship to support the next generation of melanoma pathologists. Those wishing to honour Richard’s legacy are warmly invited to contribute to the Richard Scolyer Pathology Fellowship, which will carry forward his extraordinary commitment to the next generation of melanoma pathologists.

Our thoughts are with Richard’s family during this difficult time, particularly his wife Katie and children Emily, Matthew and Lucy.

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Vale Richard.