Professor McNeil’s research activities have involved the application of epidemiological methods to problems in clinical medicine and public health. In recognition of his service he was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 2009. Professor McNeil has developed a strategy to undertake large community based intervention trials successfully, as demand for new preventive interventions become ready for evaluation. He currently heads the largest clinical trial in Australia. He has also developed the strategy to benchmark hospital performance using the clinical quality registries, and is leading the largest Australian centre for registry science. Professor McNeil has been involved in a variety of leadership roles which includes directorships in institutions nationally and internationally.