Last fall, Stanford University/Elsevier’s sixth edition of the World’s Top 2% of Scientists List was released and included 12 full-time and three part-time researchers from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC).
The rankings, compiled using data through 2022, combine standardized data on citations, h-index and other bibliometric indicators to identify the world's leading researchers and comprise approximately 2% of all scientists worldwide.
Lance R. McMahon, Ph.D., TTUHSC senior vice president for research and innovation, said the h-index, calculated for each scientist based on how many times their papers have been cited, is a popular way to quantify impact.
“There are limitations, however, which include differences in the number of scientists working in a particular scientific domain, as fewer citations are generally produced in domains with fewer scientists,” McMahon pointed out. “The h-index also treats all authors on a paper equally, when in fact, authors listed first and last have greater responsibility in the writing, study design, funding and overall intellectual contribution. The Stanford/Elsevier rankings weigh these additional factors.”
The rankings classify researchers into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields based on established classifications from Science-Metrix and data provided by Elsevier through Scopus, a large database of peer-reviewed research literature. In the latest rankings, scientists’ career-long data are updated through 2022.
Selection to the list is based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score (with and without an author’s citations of their own papers) or a percentile rank of 2% or above in the sub-field. If an author is not listed, it is because the composite indicator value was not high enough for inclusion.
“TTUHSC is the home of world-class scientists, including not only those on the Stanford/Elsevier list, but many others who also work tirelessly at our university to secure extramural research funding, publish in high impact journals and serve in positions of leadership for internationally recognized scientific organizations,” McMahon said.
According to Stanford/Elsevier's latest rankings, the 12 full-time TTUHSC researchers earning spots on the World’s Top 2% of Scientists List include (alphabetically):
- Ulrich Bickel, M.D., Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy (Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Clinical Medicine)
- Gail A. Cornwall, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Clinical Medicine)
- Thomas E. Hutson, D.O., Pharm.D., School of Medicine (Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Urology and Nephrology, Clinical Medicine)
- Lance R. McMahon, Ph.D., Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy (Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Clinical Medicine)
- Volker Neugebauer, M.D., Ph.D., School of Medicine (Neurology and Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology, Clinical Medicine)
- Kenneth Nugent, M.D., School of Medicine (General and Internal Medicine, Respiratory System, Clinical Medicine)
- P. Hemachandra Reddy, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Neurology and Neurosurgery, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Research)
- C. Patrick Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., School of Medicine (Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Immunology, Clinical Medicine)
- Kendra P. Rumbaugh, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Microbiology, Virology, Biomedical Research)
- Quentin R. Smith, Ph.D., Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy (Neurology and Neurosurgery, Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Clinical Medicine)
- Sanjay K. Srivastava, Ph.D., Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy (Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Clinical Medicine)
- Michael C. Wiener, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biophysics, Biomedical Research).
Part-time TTUHSC researchers making the Top 2% rankings include:
- Vadivel Ganapathy, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Clinical Medicine)
- Matthew B. Grisham, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Clinical Medicine)
- Rial D. Rolfe, Ph.D., School of Medicine (Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Biomedical Research).