UCL academics recognised in annual global list of influential researchers

With 49 primary affiliations and 10 secondary affiliations, UCL has the 2nd most in the UK behind the University of Oxford - and ranks 15^th in the world overall, up from 26^th in 2021.

UCL researchers were present in 10 of the 17 academic fields listed, namely: Biology and Biochemistry; Clinical Medicine; Cross-Field; Environment & Ecology; Immunology; Molecular Biology & Genetics; Neuroscience & Behaviour; Pharmacology & Toxicology; Psychiatry & Psychology; and Social Sciences. 

A total of 20 UCL researchers have been recognised in the ‘Cross-Field’ category, up from 17 in 2021, reflecting the university’s increasing engagement with cross-disciplinary activity. Two academics – Professors Andrew Steptoe (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health) and Susan Michie (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) – have been listed in two categories, joining just 249 other individuals worldwide recognised in multiple fields of research this year.

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), said: “UCL’s inclusion in this list is a great honour, and testimony to the outstanding work of my academic colleagues, supported by our professional services staff. I’d like to extend my warmest congratulations to everyone who has contributed to this success.”

The list identifies around 6,940 researchers from 69 countries across the globe who have demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field(s) through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.

The names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index, with the list also used to identify the research institutions and countries where the citation elite are based.

The UK comes in third globally with 579 researchers on the list (or 8% of the total), after the US and China, who have 2,764 (38.3%) and 1,169 (16.2%) respectively. With a population 1/5 the size of the United States and 1/20 the size of Mainland China, the UK has a particularly high number of researchers at the very top of their fields in terms of citation impact.

David Pendlebury, Head of Research Analysis at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate said: “Research fuels the race for knowledge and it is important that nations and institutions celebrate the individuals who drive the wheel of innovation.

“The Highly Cited Researchers list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at UCL who are having a significant impact on the research community as evidenced by the rate at which their work is being cited by their peers. These individuals are helping to transform human ingenuity into our world’s greatest breakthroughs – and it is an honor to celebrate their achievements.”

Listed UCL researchers:

Biology and Biochemistry: Professor Andrey Abramov and Professor David Jones

Clinical Medicine: Professor James Moon, Professor Charles Swanton, Professor David Wheeler and Professor Bryan Williams

Cross-Field: Professor David Batty, Professor Tim Blackburn, Professor Andrew Copas, Professor Helen Cross, Professor Sean Davidson, Professor Nick Fox, Professor Mark Hamer, Dr Gotaro Kojima, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Dr Jing Meng, Dr Zhifu Mi, Dr Dimitri Mikhailidis, Professor David Miller, Professor Dame Linda Partridge, Professor Anthony Schapira, Professor Bart De Strooper, Professor Junwang Tang, Professor Ann Sarah Walker, Professor Robert West, Professor Kai-Kit Wong and Professor Derek Yellon, 

Environment & Ecology: Dr Dabo Guan and Professor Dame Georgina Mace (deceased)

Immunology: Professor Sir Alimuddin Zumla 

Molecular Biology & Genetics: Professor Nicholas McGranahan and Professor Charles Swanton 

Neuroscience & Behaviour: Professor David Attwell, Professor Frederik Barkhof, Professor Timothy Behrens, Professor Matthew Botvinick, Professor Matteo Carandini, Professor Karl Friston, Professor Sir John Hardy, Professor Kenneth Harris, Professor Andrew Lees, Professor John Rothwell, Dr Michael Schöll and Professor Alan Thompson

Pharmacology & Toxicology: Dr Atheer Awad, Professor Abdul Basit, Dr Asma Buanz, Professor Simon Gaisford, Dr Alvaro Goyanes and Dr Sarah Trenfield

Psychiatry & Psychology: Professor Chris Brewin, Professor William Mandy, Professor Argyris Stringaris, Professor Glyn Lewis and  Professor Marinus van IJzendoorn

Social Sciences: Professor Mika Kivimaki, Professor James Thomas and Professor Ian R White

Psychiatry & Psychology and Social Sciences: Professor Andrew Steptoe and Professor Susan Michie

Links

• Highly Cited Researchers 2022
• UCL Research, Innovation & Global Engagement

Image

• Image Credit: Clarivate Web of Science