The hottest research and researchers of 2004-2005
April 2006
Who are the people – and what are the papers – that are having the biggest impact on current research? Science Watch®, the Thomson Scientific bimonthly publication that tracks trends and impact in today's research community, has just released its annual roundup of the hottest research and researchers of 2004-2005.
Hot papers and researchers: who’s who
Science Watch defines a “Hot Paper” as one that has been cited significantly more than others of its type and age – and a “hot” researcher as someone who has authored or co-authored a large number of hot papers. The hottest researcher over the last two years is Osaka University’s Shizuo Akira, with contributions to 11 hot papers on immune-system function. The hottest paper published last year (aside from review articles), with 124 citations as of late December 2005, is “C-reactive protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy,” by P.M. Ridker et al, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2005.
One of the contributors to this paper is Harvard’s Marc A. Pfeffer, who is tied for second place in the “hottest researcher” category, with eight hot papers to his credit. A significant portion of his citations focus on the role of statins in cardiovascular research and clinical trials. The New England Journal of Medicine has the distinction of publishing this and the three other top-ranked hot papers of 2005, as well as having the most highly cited papers overall.
The hottest fields
The field with the most hot researchers in 2004-2005 is physics. Of the top 21 researchers in this year’s report, 14 published in this field, far above the second place ranking of 3 for clinical medicine. The important areas focused on by these influential physical-sciences researchers include the Belle B-meson and Super-Kamiokande neutrino-detection experiments and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory. Clinical Medicine topped the list of fields with the most hot papers, with cardiovascular research being an especially hot topic.
See the hottest 21 researchers and 40 hottest papers from 2005
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