Professor Donald Metcalf, a decorated Australian scientist whose research improved the treatment of millions of cancer sufferers, has died at the age of 85.

Professor Metcalf worked as a medical researcher at Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) for 60 years.

He died in his home surrounded by family, after he was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Director of the WEHI Professor Douglas Hilton said that studying blood cells was Professor Metcalf's "single-minded passion".

"He worked virtually every day until he was diagnosed with cancer himself, which was in August," Professor Hilton said.

Professor Hilton said 20 million cancer patients had benefited from Professor Metcalf's work, which focused on how red and white blood cells are produced and which hormones control blood cell production.

"For 40 years, he painstakingly - with collaborators - identified those hormones and then worked out how they could be used clinically," Professor Hilton said.

He discovered that the body produces more white blood cells when injected with the hormones, meaning millions of cancer sufferers had a better chance of beating the disease.

"Cancer patients often have to stop their chemotherapy because the chemotherapy has the side effect of killing white blood cells, not just the cancer cells," Professor Hilton said.

"What Don realised - and this was really his genius - was that if you were able to give an injection of these hormones before or during the chemotherapy, you gave the cancer patient a much better chance of having enough white blood cells, and therefore finish their therapies."

Donald Metcalf: Determined to understand cancer

Professor Metcalf's research was funded by the Cancer Council of Victoria Cardin Fellowship for 60 years.

Former Cancer Council Victoria head Professor David Hill said that as a junior researcher in 1954, Professor Metcalf was so determined to research the disease he offered to do the job for half the offered salary.

"Don was first of all very driven by absolute scientific curiosity, and he was also a very humane person," Professor Hill said.

"He channelled that curiosity into something which could benefit humanity through understanding the human biology relating to cancer.

"He thrived, but it took quite a long time, and the cancer council was patient and Don in particular was patient."

Professor Hilton said that Professor Metcalf was "stubborn" in his persistence.

"Probably for 30 years ... the things that he discovered were controversial, it wasn't really clear that they were going to be all that important," he said.

"That requires a really thick skin, just to keep working on something that you're really excited about despite commentary from your colleagues and from your boss and from other people."

Professor Metcalf was awarded the the Companion of the Order of Australia in 1993 and the Prime Minister's Prize for Science in 2001.

He was also awarded with the Albert Lasker Award, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and the Victoria Prize.

Researching until the end

Professor Hilton said Professor Metcalf never lost his passion for medical research.

"When he was diagnosed with cancer in August ... the two things he wanted to do was spend as much time as possible with his wife, Jo, and his daughters, but also to continue to do his research," he said.

"His solution was to have his microscope, which was his valued possession at work, shipped home and it sat on his dining room table.

"While he was undergoing chemotherapy, he'd be able to sneak in some experiments in the afternoon and then spend the time with his wife, so really that kept going until about a month ago."

It was a "tremendous" work ethic that characterised his life, Professor Hill said.

"He was only in trouble with the law twice, and on both occasions it was for speeding to work before 7:00am in the morning; he just couldn't wait to get to the lab," he said.

"Of all the scientists I've known, he was one who stood out as never losing sight of the purpose of what he was doing, which was basically to save lives if possible."

Professor Hilton said Professor Metcalf had mentored and inspired the next generation of scientists.

"He took punts on people, I think he very famously said that he could see a glint in people's eyes," he said.

"They may not be all that smart on paper, and that was certainly the case for me, but if he saw that glint in your eye, that passion, that creativity, then he'd give you a shot.

"I think he did that for a lot of people."