Scripps Research garners 17 places on global ranking of most highly cited researchers
The annual list represents the “who’s who” of influential researchers who have impacted their field over the past decade.
November 17, 2021
LA JOLLA, CA— One of the key metrics of a leading scientist is the citation of their work by their peers. The annual Highly Cited Researchers list, based on this metric, features 14 foremost Scripps Research scientists who span the fields of biology, immunology and microbiology, chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology.
The 2021 list includes 6,602 researchers from more than 70 countries who rank in the top 1 percent of citations in their field over the prior decade, as calculated by Web of Science, the world’s largest publisher-neutral citation index.
Scientific papers that are cited the most heavily over time are regarded as highly impactful for a given field, often laying important foundations for knowledge on a topic and driving innovation within the scientific community.
“We are thrilled to see so many of our Scripps Research colleagues named on this list, which is a mark of their pioneering discoveries over the past 10 years,” says Jamie Williamson, PhD, executive vice president of Research and Academic Affairs at Scripps Research. “Each of them has transformed their given fields, revealing new possibilities in basic and translational research that are already shaping human health.”
Of the 17 total spots landed by Scripps Research, Ian Wilson and Dennis Burton are featured multiple times, having achieved the top 1 percent of citations in more than one field. Both are named in immunology and microbiology, while Wilson is also represented in biology and biochemistry.
Six additional Scripps Research scientists from the list are recognized for their influential research in cross-disciplinary fields, indicative of the interdisciplinary nature of the institute. One of these researchers is Ardem Patapoutian, whose groundbreaking work into how the body senses touch and other mechanical stimuli won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. James Paulson, Benjamin Cravatt, William Schief, Robyn Stanfield and John Yates are also recognized on the list for cross-field citations.
This year, Scripps Research is additionally represented in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology by Vadim Cherezov and Vsevolod Katritch. Phil Baran and Jin-Quan Yu continue to make the list for their breakthrough chemistry methodologies, while Jeong Hyun Lee and Jean-Philippe Julien are named for their contributions in microbiology.
By region, the United States is home to the greatest number of Highly Cited Researchers, representing 39.7 percent of the list. Mainland China increases its share from previous years, standing at 14.2 percent, with United Kingdom, Australia and Germany making up the remainder of the top five nations.
For more information, contact press@scripps.edu