Alan Lopez is a highly cited public health researcher whose contributions have had a major impact on health policy debates in Australia and worldwide, named in the top 10 most influential researchers worldwide by Thompson-Reuters in 2015. His seminal and continuing work on the Global Burden of Disease Study with Chris Murray is used by the Gates Foundation to determine research priorities, and by government in Australia and WHO to prioritise major disease control programs ( e.g tobacco control). His research leadership on ‘verbal autopsy’ and vital registration systems is reducing ignorance about leading causes of death in developing countries.