It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Bond University Professor of Public Health Chris Del Mar, who was the Co-ordinating Editor of Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections for 20 years.

Chris was a prolific author and an international leader in research on respiratory tract infections, on the emerging problem of antibiotic resistance, and on shared decision-making in health care.

He was also a generous contributor to Cochrane, who mentored and supported new authors, and was an enthusiastic participant in Cochrane Australia symposiums and Cochrane colloquiums.

Chris’s contributions to Australian general practice were recognised in 2008 when he was honoured with the RACGP's highest award, the Rose-Hunt Medal. The Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care awarded Chris the Bridges-Webb Medal in 2014. In 2021 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to tertiary education, to health and medical research, and to professional bodies.

His wife Professor Tammy Hoffman described Chris’s legacy on twitter, saying:

“Chris has helped and inspired countless patients, medical students, doctors and researchers. He was an original thinker and unafraid to challenge the evidence behind conventional beliefs and practices. His decades of research influenced practice and policy in Australia and around the world.

“Chris is renowned for his wisdom, compassion, wit, intelligence, integrity, entertaining stories and humour. He was kind, generous, always a gentleman and genuinely interested in those around him. He had (so!) many interests and skills, was curious about nearly everything, and had an insatiable desire to ‘do good’.”

He will be deeply missed by his many former students, colleagues, and friends. Our sincerest thoughts and condolences are with his wife Tammy and their family.