He was one of our leading researchers and known for his work (along with Dr Long) on melanomas, one of the deadliest and common cancers in Australia.
He came out publicly with his diagnosis and because he was a researcher, he was able to use the same sort of technology he had worked on for melanomas to advance the research on glioblastomas because the ethical rules for usual studies could be relaxed.
His work along with his doctors has advanced research dramatically hopefully leading to, if not a cure, treatments that can make yet another cancer a chronic disease. There are formal research clinical trials being planned on the technology and treatments he pioneered.
He was a celebrity because we (Australians) knew a good and worthy human when we saw one.