Competing interests: I have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare that I am a member of the NHMRC advisory group on the synthesis and translation of research evidence. I was a member of the National Research Council committee that published Review of EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Process. I was cochair of the Cochrane governing board from 2013 to 2017, for which the University of Sydney received remuneration.