51 UC San Diego Researchers among Most Highly Cited in World in 2021 Clarivate Listing

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UC San Diego ranked 9th globally for most highly cited researchers

Fifty-one faculty members and researchers at the University of California San Diego have been cited as among the world’s most influential in their fields, according to the 2021 Clarivate listing of Most Highly Cited Researchers in the World.

Clarivate is a company providing analytics of scientific and academic research. Among its services is publishing the annual Highly Cited Researchers list. Clarivate’s 2021 list identifies some 6,600 researchers from across the globe who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Those on the 2021 list come from more than 70 countries and territories and represent more than 1300 research institutions around the world. Of those 1300 institutions, UC San Diego ranked 9th in number of highly cited researchers.

UC San Diego has researchers listed in 15 fields of study, including a “cross-field” category for researchers who are widely cited across multiple fields. The categories of study most-cited among the UC San Diego researchers on the 2021 list are cross-field (23), followed by molecular biology and genetics (6), and (with 4 each): biology and biochemistry, clinical medicine, and microbiology.

“UC San Diego’s 9th place ranking, out of 1,300 research institutions globally, shines a bright and well-deserved light on the groundbreaking, multi-disciplinary research taking place across our university,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Regularly cited by colleagues around the globe, the work of our respected faculty experts is advancing human knowledge and addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Davin D. Pendlebury, Senior Citation Analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate said: “This list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at the University of California San Diego 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.”

UC San Diego also stands out as home to the only researcher, out of 6,602 identified in the 2021 list, to be honored in four separate area of study. For the second year in a row, Professor Rob Knight, Director for the Center of Microbiome Innovation at UC San Diego, received recognition in the fields of biology and biochemistry, environment and ecology, microbiology, and molecular biology and genetics.

“Having over 50 highly cited­­ researchers from diverse fields of research on the 2021 Clarivate list is the mark of a great research university,” said UC San Diego Vice Chancellor for Research Sandra A. Brown. “We’re excited to see our faculty and researchers get the recognition they deserve for their groundbreaking and impactful research.”

The 51 UC San Diego faculty members and researchers named by Clarivate, and the fields of study in which they were cited, are listed here in alphabetical order by last names:

1. Gregory Aarons, social sciences
2. Ludmil Alexandrov, molecular biology and genetics
3. Amnon Amir, cross-field
4. David Brenner, cross-Field
5. Kristin Cadenhead, cross-field
6. Don Cleveland, neuroscience and behavior
7. Seth Cohen, chemistry
8. Justine Debelius, cross-field
9. Pieter Dorrestein, cross-field
10. Mark Ellisman, cross-field
11. Mark Estelle, plant and animal science
12. Michael Fogler, cross-field
13. Anthony Gamst, cross-field
14. Jack Gilbert, microbiology
15. Christopher Glass, molecular biology and genetics
16. Uri Gneezy, economics and business
17. Antonio Gonzalez, microbiology
18. Kun-Liang Guan, molecular biology and genetics
19. Trey Ideker, cross-field
20. Michael Karin, molecular biology and genetics
21. Dusan Keres, space science
22. Jacqueline Kerr, social sciences
23. Rob Knight, (listed in 4 fields) biology and biochemistry / environment and ecology / microbiology / molecular biology and genetics
24. Razelle Kurzrock, clinical medicine
25. Lisa Levin, cross-field
26. Irene Litvan, neuroscience and behavior
27. Rohit Loomba, clinical medicine
28. Prashant Mali, biology and biochemistry
29. Eliezer Masliah, cross-field
30. Daniel McDonald, (listed in 2 fields) biology and biochemistry / microbiology
31. Shirley Meng, cross-field
32. Jerrold Olefsky, cross-field
33. Shyue Ping Ong, cross-field
34. Bernhard Palsson, biology and biochemistry
35. Allan Pei, cross-Field
36. Bing Ren, molecular biology and genetics
37. William Sandborn, (listed in 2 fields) pharmacology and toxicology / clinical medicine
38. Jon Sanders, cross-field
39. Bernd Schnabl, cross-field
40. Julian Schroeder, plant and animal science
41. Claude Sirlin, clinical medicine
42. Murray Stein, cross-field
43. Ming Tsuang, psychiatry and psychology
44. Joseph Wang, cross-field
45. Joseph Witztum, cross-field
46. Shang-Ping Xie, geosciences
47. Sheng Xu, cross-Field
48. Zhenjiang Zech Xu, cross-field
49. Gene Yeo, cross-field
50. Liangfang Zhang, pharmacology and toxicology
51. Yunde Zhao, plant and animal science

The methodology that determines Clarivate’s annual list of influential researchers draws on the data and analysis performed by bibliometric experts and data scientists at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate. You can read more about Clarivate’s methodology on its website.