Rick Speare

Richard "Rick" Speare (2 August 1947 – 5 June 2016) was an Australian public health physician and veterinary surgeon. He is best known for his research on animal diseases, particularly his work on chytridiomycosis in amphibians.

Research career

Speare worked clinically as both a medical doctor and a veterinarian. He joined James Cook University in 1988 as a research fellow, and was appointed an associate professor in 1991. His research covered a suite of diseases, including paramphistomid trematodes of the agile wallaby, scabies, head lice, malaria, and Australian bat lyssavirus. However, he is best known for his work on amphibian diseases such as salmonella and ranaviruses in cane toads, Mucor amphibiorum in the Australian green tree frog, and, most notably, chytridiomycosis.

In 2005, Speare and two colleagues infected themselves with hookworms to study the body's response to the parasites. Speare was instrumental in founding the Atoifi Health Research Group in the Solomon Islands, to help improve public health in the region.

Retirement and death

Speare retired from James Cook University in 2012, but remained an emeritus professor and continued to publish research. He was also a director of the private company Tropical Health Solutions Pty Ltd, whose aims were to "improve health in the tropics through undertaking applied research to generate evidence for decisions and through building research capacity in local researchers." Speare died in a car accident in the Atherton Tablelands on 5 June 2016. He was survived by his wife Kerry, three sons, two daughters and five grandchildren.