Once again, eight scientists from Ulm University have been listed among the most frequently cited and thus most influential researchers in the world. Ulm University makes an appearance in the current Highly Cited Researchers list with diverse research topics ranging from medicine and physiology all the way to botany and quantum physics.
The analytics company Clarivate reviewed scientific publications from the past ten years in order to compile the Highly Cited Researchers list. The basis for the database analysis is the independent Web of Science, the world’s largest citation index. The more frequently an author is cited in publications, the higher his/her citation index. The Highly Cited Researchers of a particular year are made up of the top one per cent of the most frequently cited authors in their field of research.
Many of the most frequently cited researchers at Ulm University have already been making appearances in the list for years – led by neuroscientists and married couple Professor Heiko Break and Dr Dr Kelly Del Tredic-Braak, whose achievements include developing the so-called Break Stages to classify the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. They are joined by leukaemia researchers Professor Hartmut Döhner, medical director of the Department of Internal Medicine III and expert on the most common types of blood cancer in adults, and Professor Stephan Stilgenbauer. A fellow cancer researcher, Stilgenbauer has developed new methods of treatment for the most common types of leukaemia at the Department of Internal Medicine III. Stilgenbauer recently moved to the University of Saarland to take on the position of director of the Department of Internal Medicine I, but continues to be involved in scientific projects in Ulm.
Another repeat appearance is Steven Jansen, professor of botany, whose research interests include water transportation in plants and the impact of drought stress on plants. Quantum physicists Professor Fedor Jelezko and Professor Martin Plenio are also among the top one per cent of the most frequently cited authors. Together, these two scientists have established a new field of research at the interface of quantum technology and biomedicine. Professor Stephan Grissmer (Institute of Applied Physiology) made it into the list of Highly Cited Researchers again as well, after having been added last year for the first time. Grissmer’s research focuses on ion channels in cell membranes and their malfunctions.
Professor Stefano Passerini is another scientist with a repeat appearance as a Highly Cited Researcher and close ties to Ulm University. Passerini heads the Helmholtz Institute Ulm, which was founded by Ulm University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for conducting battery research with other partners.
A total of nearly 6200 researchers from more than 60 countries and regions were included in the 2020 list of the most frequently cited researchers. In a comparison of countries around the world, Germany reached 4th place with its 345 listed researchers, coming in behind the countries of the USA, China and the United Kingdom.
Text and mediacontact: Daniela Stang
Translation: Kate Gaugler