He feared that the well of research might be poisoned, and 12 years after Alessandro’s death Altman’s words have not been heeded. He tells of the importance of engagement and a sense of communion, both of which mattered to Alessandro. Alessandro brought many people together (including the three of us) and encouraged us to research, challenge, think radically, and share our findings and thoughts through journals and books. He infused us with a sense of belonging to a common international research community engaged in promoting solidarity and progress in major public health issues. A longer version of this article is available at https://richardswsmith.wordpress.com/Provenance and peer review: not commissioned, not externally peer reviewed.
