One percent of the world's most frequently cited researchers in 2020 include six outstanding scientists from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: Prof. Dr. Stefan Anker, Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach, Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Dr. Martin Kircher, Prof. Dr. Ulf Landmesser and Prof. Dr. Burkert Pieske. This is the result of an analysis by the Web of Science Group, which was published in mid-November as a list of "Highly Cited Researchers". The researchers are thus considered to be particularly influential in their field.
The frequency of citation of a researcher's scientific work by peers is considered as a measure of their influence in the respective field. This year, the list of the world's most cited researchers includes about 6,400 persons from about 60 nations, 345 of them from Germany. 21 disciplines from the fields of medicine, natural sciences, economics and social sciences were analyzed. The ranking lists separately researchers who are active at the intersection of several disciplines ("cross-field").
Molecular Biology & Genetics
In the field of molecular biology & genetics Dr. Martin Kircher is one of the 206 most cited researchers worldwide. The Charité scientist has been head of the Junior Research Group "Computational Genome Biology" at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) since 2017 and was listed among the "Highly Cited Researchers" for the first time in 2019. His research focuses on computer-based methods for the identification of genetic changes that play a role in the development of diseases, for example.
Immunology
Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach, Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection Immunology at Charité, is one of the 199 researchers worldwide who were identified as particularly influential in immunology. He is on the list since 2017. The BIH professor of precision medicine with focus on microbiome research investigates the role of the innate immune system in physiological adaptation to the environment and in regeneration and homeostasis of tissues and organs.
Cross-field
One of the currently probably best known virologists in Germany, Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, is also one of the most influential scientists of "cross-field". The director of the Institute of Virology of Charité is, after 2015 and 2018, already for the third time among the most frequently cited researchers worldwide. The BIH Professor of Virology is the scientific director of the interdisciplinary center Charité Global Health, deputy coordinator at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and spokesperson of the National Research Network on Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. Since his appointment at the Charité in 2017, he has been pursuing the goal of understanding the development of epidemics and identifying viruses that pose a threat to humanity using laboratory data.
Clinical Medicine
Three particularly influential specialists from the Charité are active in heart research. Prof. Dr. Stefan Anker is Professor for Tissue Homeostasis at the BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT) and in the Medical Clinic with a focus on Cardiology at the Campus Virchow Clinic. He is mainly engaged in research on heart failure and investigates cardio-oncological issues in patients with advanced tumor disease. He has also made it onto the list of "Highly Cited Researchers" for the sixth time.
For the third time, Prof. Dr. Burkert Pieske, Director of the Medical Clinic with a focus on Cardiology at the Virchow Clinic Campus, Director of the Clinic for Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the German Heart Institute Berlin and Deputy Spokesman of the Berlin site of the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) is represented on the list. In his scientific work, the BIH Professor of Cardiology is particularly dedicated to heart failure and heart failure-associated arrhythmias, with a focus on the implementation of preclinical pathophysiological findings in therapy studies.
His colleague Prof. Dr. Ulf Landmesser, Medical Director of the Charité Center for Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of the Medical Clinic for Cardiology on the Benjamin Franklin Campus and BIH Professor of Cardiology, is listed for the second time and has made outstanding contributions, particularly with publications on the causes and new treatment options for coronary heart disease and innovative minimally invasive catheter-based treatment methods in cardiac medicine.
About the list of the "Highly Cited Researchers”
The list of "Highly Cited Researchers" has been published since 2014 by the Web of Science Group, a Clarivate Analytics company. The analysis included publications that were published between 2009 and 2019 and were among the one percent of the most frequently cited scientific articles in the year of publication. The list included all persons who had published several such publications. The required number of top publications varied depending on the field of specialty and was highest for the area of "Clinical Medicine". The areas of specialization examined were: Agricultural Science, Biology & Biochemistry, Chemistry, Geosciences, Immunology, Computer Science, Engineering, Clinical Medicine, Materials Science, Mathematics, Microbiology, Molecular Biology & Genetics, Neuroscience & Behavior, Plant and Animal Sciences, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Physics, Psychiatry/Psychology, Social Science, Environmental Science/Ecology, Space Research, Economic Science/Business Administration.