A medical breakthrough from Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer has helped save thousands of lives.

Their partnership gave Australians a fighting chance against melanoma, known as the nation’s cancer.

In less than a decade, advanced melanoma went from being fatal to a curable disease due to pioneering work in activating patients’ immune systems.

The co-medical directors of Melanoma Institute Australia have been at the forefront of public education on sun-smart behaviour and skin cancer prevention.

When Professor Scolyer was diagnosed with incurable grade-four brain cancer in June 2023, he and Professor Long developed a series of world-first treatments based on their melanoma breakthroughs.

By undertaking an experimental treatment at the risk of shortening his life, Prof Scolyer has advanced the understanding of brain cancer and is benefiting future patients.

He has generated public interest by publicly documenting his own cancer treatment and progress.

For their life-saving melanoma work, the pair have been named joint Australians of the Year for 2024.

“We stand here tonight proudly representing every melanoma patient and their families,” Prof Scolyer said.

“Our thoughts are always with those families where our breakthrough treatments came too late,” Prof Long said.

“We are forever indebted to your loved ones, and all our patients for their selfless commitment to research, which has changed the futures for others.

“That is Aussie mateship at its very best.”

National Australia Day Council chair John Foreman said the impact of their world-leading research would be felt by countless people.

“Georgina and Richard are leading work which is saving countless lives now and, thanks also to the personal commitment of Richard, will lead to an even more extraordinary impact on the health of people around the world in the future,” he said.

Olympic champion Emma McKeon was named Young Australian of the Year, with teacher and community leader Yalmay Yunupingu the Senior Australian of the Year.

Australia’s Local Hero went to pastoralist and dinosaur fossil finder David Elliott.

By Tess Ikonomou in Canberra