"Hot Papers" provide insight into the most influential research of the past two years
Christopher King
Thomson Scientific
June 2005
From microbiology to genomics to physics to astronomy, the hottest researchers of the last two years cover the gamut of research fields. Leading the way is University of Hong Kong’s Malik Peiris, named by ScienceWatch® as the hottest researcher in 2003-2004.
The most highly cited papers
The rankings were derived from the Thomson Scientific Hot Papers Database, and spotlight the authors who, as of late 2004, had published the greatest number of Hot Papers over the preceding two years. Hot Papers have achieved a citation rate in scientific journals significantly higher than papers of comparable type and age. Only articles presenting original research are included.
Overall, the rankings recognized 16 researchers at twelve institutions worldwide. They are from institutions as diverse as the Hong Kong Department of Health, Erasmaus University; CTSU, University of Oxford; Osaka University (Japan), Harvard University, Princeton University, and Ohio State University. Researchers from Hong Kong institutions accounted for nearly 22% of the rankings, with 23 papers. Researchers from U.S. institutions accounted for nearly 55%, with 58 papers among 9 researchers.
The importance of a topic and the collaborative nature of science are demonstrated by the fact that in several cases, a hot paper’s co-authors are lead authors of other hot papers on the list. One example: Malik Peiris, who works in the field of microbiology, topped the rankings with nine highly cited articles on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). His co-authors include Yung Yuen, Wilina Lim, Albert Osterhaus and Ron Fouchier, who are also lead authors of Hot Papers on this list. We see this trend also in the case of Claire M. Fraser of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). She authored eight Hot Papers, one of which, on the genome sequence of the Brown Norway rat, was among 2004’s hottest, ranking at #3. Her TIGR colleague and co-author, Ian T. Paulsen, is himself a Hot Paper lead author.
An annual snapshot of Who’s Who in Research
Christopher King, editor of Science Watch, calls these rankings an “annual snapshot of researchers making a significant recent impact on science. Being identified as an author of numerous Hot Papers demonstrates a researcher’s impact on research happening today.”
Additional Information
Read the full Science Watch article:
"The Hottest Research of 2003-04"-
including the full list of cited authors and their papers