2001 Distinguished Alumnus Alan D. Lopez

M.S. Purdue University - 1974

Dr. Lopez is coordinator of the Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Unit of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. In this position he is responsible for directing and managing WHO’s epidemiology and biostatistics activities within the Global Programme on Evidence for Health Policy. Since joining WHO in 1980, Dr. Lopez has served in a number of positions, including Acting Programme Manager for the Programme on Substance Abuse, preceded by two years as chief of the Prevention, Advocacy and Promotion Unit of that Programme. In 1992, he began work, in collaboration with Professor Christopher Murray of Harvard, on the Global Burden of Disease Study for the 1993 World Development Report. This work included preparing global and regional estimates of incidence, prevalence, mortality, duration and severity for over 100 diseases and injuries and projecting these epidemiological estimates to 2020 as the major global evidence-based data set for priority setting in the health sector. His work has resulted in the preparation of five volumes in the Global Burden of Disease Series. Dr. Lopez is a member of the international Union for the Scientific Study of Population and the International Epidemiological Association, and serves on scientific review panels for a number of professional journals. Dr. Lopez received his M.S. degree in Statistics from Purdue University in 1974.

Announcement that was given at the time of the award.