Richard "Rick" Speare (2 August 1947 – 5 June 2016) was an Australian public health physician and veterinary surgeon.

[1] His research covered a suite of diseases, including paramphistomid trematodes of the agile wallaby, scabies, head lice, malaria, and Australian bat lyssavirus.

[2] 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.

Speare performed significant work on the public health control of human strongyloidiasis caused by Strongyloides stercoralis, particularly in Aboriginal Australian communities.

[5] Speare retired from James Cook University in 2012, and was made a member of the Order of Australia in the same year.