Richard Scolyer, cancer researcher and former Australian of the year, dies aged 59

Dr Richard Scolyer, the eminent pathologist and melanoma expert who was diagnosed with grade-four inoperable brain cancer, has died aged 59. Photograph: James Gourley/The Guardian

Prof Richard Scolyer, the world-renowned cancer researcher and former Australian of the year, has died at the age of 59.

Scolyer’s family shared a statement the eminent pathologist and melanoma expert penned before his final stages of illness.