I rise to pay tribute to Professor Rinaldo Bellomo AO after his death in May this year. Professor Ronaldo was a director of intensive care research at Austin Health in Heidelberg. He was a giant in Australian and global intensive care medicine—the most published and most cited medical researcher in the history of Australian medicine. Professor Rinaldo arrived in Australia from Italy in 1980, completed his medical degree at Monash University and earned his PhD from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. He became a professor at Monash University, where his passion for research and teaching shaped generations of clinicians and scientists.
In 2018, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to intensive care medicine as a biomedical scientist, researcher and systems innovator. He once said that his life’s work wasn’t just about finding answers but about having conversations with patients, students and fellow clinicians, rooted in humility and empathy. He said: ‘Patients are not just cases; they are people with stories. The privilege of being a doctor is being invited into those stories, sometimes at their most vulnerable point, and trying to help.’ I know he is very much missed by the community of Austin Hospital, and our community and our country are grateful for his immense contributions.
Vale, Professor Rinaldo Bellomo AO.
