Eleven current Vanderbilt University faculty members, 10 of whom are investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, are included in the 2024 list of “Highly Cited Researchers” around the world whose papers have been cited most frequently by other scientists.
They are among 6,636 scientists whose publications between 2013 and 2023 ranked in the top 1% by citations for field of research and publication year in the Web of Science citation indexes. The global analytics firm Clarivate compiled and released this year’s list on Nov. 19.
The Highly Cited Researchers list recognizes both the scientific achievements of individual scientists and “their profound impact on tackling broader societal challenges,” said Emmanuel Thiveaud, PhD, senior vice president for Research and Analytics at Clarivate.
Their contributions “are a testament to (their) institution’s commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation on a global scale, reinforcing the foundation of excellence,” Thiveaud added.
VUMC and VU researchers on the 2024 list are:
Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, who investigates links between the microbiota (microorganisms that live in the intestines) and host metabolism, and how environmental factors that disrupt the microbiota can increase the risk for colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, childhood obesity and other disorders.
James Crowe Jr., MD, the Ann Scott Carell Professor, professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, whose work has informed the development of new vaccines and therapeutics, specifically human monoclonal antibodies, to treat and prevent viral diseases, including COVID-19.
Mark Denison, MD, the Edward Claiborne Stahlman Professor of Pediatric Physiology and Cell Metabolism, and professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, whose team has made significant contributions to understanding the biology of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Romney Humphries, PhD, professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine, and medical director of the Microbiology Laboratory, whose lab evaluates methods that improve the speed and accuracy of identifying antibiotic-resistant bacteria infecting patients, and novel antimicrobials designed to treat these infections.
De-en Jiang, PhD, professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and of Chemistry, whose research focuses on computational chemical science and materials. According to his website, a long-term goal is to “achieve data-driven design of functional materials and molecules for a sustainable society.”
Douglas Johnson, MD, MSCI, holder of the Susan and Luke Simons Directorship, professor of Medicine and leader of the melanoma clinical research program in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, who has published extensively on profiling cancers to predict which patients will benefit from immune therapies.
Elizabeth Phillips, MD, holder of the John A. Oates Chair in Clinical Research, professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and director of Personalized Immunology at VUMC’s Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics, whose work has helped define the immunopathogenesis of severe adverse drug reactions.
Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Immunobiology, professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology, whose studies of lymphocyte metabolism are shedding light on inflammatory diseases like lupus and anti-tumor immunity.
Dan Roden, MD, holder of the Sam L. Clark, MD, PhD Chair, professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Biomedical Informatics and Senior Vice President for Personalized Medicine at VUMC, who is a leader in pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, including the role that genetic variations play in adverse drug reactions.
C. Michael Stein, MBChB, holder of the Dan May Chair and professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, who has published extensively on the use of translational approaches to define the mechanisms underlying interindividual variability in drug response and toxicity, and on the link between inflammation and cardiovascular disease.
H. Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine and Public Health, whose research focuses on viral respiratory illnesses in older adults, with a special interest in prevention through immunization. She currently chairs the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seven of the researchers — Byndloss, Crowe, Denison, Johnson, Rathmell, Roden and Stein — have made the list during each of the past three years or longer.
Clarivate reported that the United States is the institutional home to 2,507 of this year’s highly cited researchers, followed by mainland China with 1,405 and the United Kingdom with 563.
By research institution, the Chinese Academy of Sciences ranked No. 1, with the greatest number of highly cited researchers on the 2024 list, followed by Harvard and Stanford universities, Beijing’s Tsinghua University and the National Institutes of Health.
