Last September, the Federal Government announced a $5.9 million commitment to set up the Richard Scolyer Chair in Brain Cancer Research at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
Created in partnership with the University of Sydney and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, this important commitment came about thanks to the advocacy of Professor Richard Scolyer AO, his wife Katie, Gail O'Brien, and members of the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse executive team.
You may already recognise the name Professor Richard Scolyer. A leading pathologist and 2024 joint Australian of the Year, Professor Scolyer spent decades progressing melanoma research. In 2023, he was tragically diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer and the same cancer type that his friend and colleague, Professor Chris O'Brien AO, sadly passed away from in 2009.
After his diagnosis, Professor Scolyer became ‘patient zero’ in a world first experimental treatment, receiving a combination of immunotherapy and a personalised vaccine before surgery. This treatment, adapted from melanoma breakthroughs, drew global attention.
Professor Scolyer has received surgery and treatment at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, and has been a public advocate for the hospital, raising over $129k when he ran City2Surf last year. The Chair position was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra the following month.
The new position will build capacity across our high-performing brain cancer research team to accelerate brain cancer research. For patients and families, this means new hope for better treatments and outcomes for this deadly disease.
We’re grateful to the Federal Government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Minister for Health Mark Butler for their commitment to brain cancer research and to Professor Richard Scolyer for his tireless advocacy of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. We would also like to thank our donor community for supporting our world-leading brain cancer research to a level recognised by the Federal Government.
