Meningitis Research, the Top 20 Institutions
Institution Feature, July 2010
This month, ScienceWatch.com presents a listing of the top 20 institutions which, according to our Special Topic on Meningitis, attracted the highest total citations to their papers published on the topic in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals.
These institutions are the top 20 ranked by total cites out of a pool of 9,661 institutions publishing on this topic, based on the string search "meningit*" or "meningoc*" in titles, abstracts, and keywords of original articles, reviews, and proceedings papers published between January 1, 2000 and May 7, 2010 in the Web of Science.®
Martine Bos from the University of Utrecht
The resulting list of institutions includes 11 US-based organizations: 10
universities and one government agency. There are four European
institutions, three UK-based universities and one UK-based hospital, and
one Canadian government agency.
The top-ranked institution by total cites is the University of Oxford, with 357 papers cited a total of 9,548 times. Highly cited research coming out of Oxford includes complete genome sequence studies, vaccine candidates, epidemiology, and serogroup studies. Four authors in our analysis hail from Oxford: Martin Maiden, Richard Moxon, Derek Hood, and Andrew Pollard.
Lauri Hicks from the CDC
Fred Tenover from the CDC
Greg Martin from Emory University
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks at #2, with 313 papers cited a total of 9,139 times. Among the highly cited papers produced by the CDC are such topics as multidrug resistance, meningitis outbreaks, cost-effectiveness of vaccinations in children, modes of infection transmission, and risk factors for infection. One of the CDC's most-cited researchers in this topic is Anne Schuchat, who ranks at #5 among the top 20 authors by total cites.
Johns Hopkins University claims the third slot, with 234 papers cited a total of 6,355 times. Johns Hopkins researchers are also involved in complete genome sequence studies and multidrug resistance. In addition, they are concerned with neurological diseases in patients with HIV/AIDS, invasive meningococcal disease in adolescents and young adults, and clinical outcomes.
Ranking at #4 is Emory University, with 176 papers cited 5,592 times. Emory's highly cited papers cover such topics as Group B streptococcal disease, the increase in multidrug resistance, bacterial heme assimilation systems, and the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis. Emory researchers Monica Farley and David Stephens appear on the top 20 author listings in our analysis.
France's Institut Pasteur ranks at #5, with 199 papers cited a total of 3,654 times. Genomic studies, tools for diagnosis and epidemiology, and the molecular pathogenesis of several organisms associated with meningitis, including Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus, are among the hot topics under investigation by researchers at Pasteur—including Muhamed-Kheir Taha, who ranks at #6 by total papers in our analysis.
Vanderbilt University ranks at #6, with 70 papers cited a total of 3,464 times. Vaccine research appears to be a main focus at Vanderbilt. Interventional therapies and outbreaks are also examined.
Ranking at #7 with 154 papers cited a total of 3,309 times is University College London. Several of UCL's highly cited papers focus on the role of mannose-binding lectin in the microbial world. Other topics receiving citation attention include serogroup studies, epidemiology in infancy with long-term follow-up studies, and examining a variety of immunological aspects of meningitis.
The University of London Imperial College of Science Technology & Medicine joins the ranks at #8, with 169 papers cited 2,847 times. Imperial's highly cited papers touch on such topics as vaccination, epidemiology, immunological studies, clinical outcomes, and host and bacterial genotypes. Imperial researcher Brian Spratt ranks at #8 on our list of top 20 authors by total cites.
"The resulting list of institutions includes 11 US-based organizations: 10 universities and one government agency..."
The University of Pittsburgh ranks at #9, with 119 papers cited a total of 2,839 times. Pitt is also concerned with neurologic diseases in patients with HIV/AIDS, along with serogroup studies, as well as clonal composition pre- and post-vaccination, epidemiology in community-acquired infection and organ transplants, and the use of colistin for multidrug-resistant strains. Lee Harrison, one of Pitt's researchers, ranks at #4 on our list of the 20 most-cited authors.
Rounding out the top 10 is Duke University, with 116 papers cited 2,570 times. Duke seems largely concerned with fungal meningitis, in particular that caused by Cryptococcus neoformans. Virulence factors, pathogenesis, and therapies are prevalent themes among Duke's highly cited papers.
The other US universities on the list include the University of Alabama (#12), Harvard University (#14), the University of Pennsylvania (#16), the University of Southern California (#17), and Baylor College of Medicine (#20). The fourth UK institution on the list is Withington Hospital (#15). The remaining European institutions on the list are the University of Amsterdam (#11), the University of Utrecht (#13), and the Max Planck Society (#19). Canada is represented on the list by the National Research Council of Canada (#18).
Scientists from these institutions who have spoken with us about their
work, which is related to meningitis in some way, include
Lauri Hicks,
and Fred Tenover
from the CDC,
Greg Martin
from Emory University, and
Martine Bos
from the University of Utrecht.
The top 20 institutions in the Special Topic of Meningitis
Rank | Institution | Citations | Papers | Cites per paper |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Univ Oxford | 9,548 | 357 | 26.75 |
2 | Ctr Dis Control & Prevent | 9,139 | 313 | 29.20 |
3 | JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV | 6,355 | 234 | 27.16 |
4 | Emory Univ | 5,592 | 176 | 31.77 |
5 | Inst Pasteur | 3,654 | 199 | 18.36 |
6 | VANDERBILT UNIV | 3,464 | 70 | 49.49 |
7 | UCL | 3,309 | 154 | 21.49 |
8 | Univ London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med | 2,847 | 169 | 16.85 |
9 | Univ Pittsburgh | 2,839 | 119 | 23.86 |
10 | Duke Univ | 2,570 | 116 | 22.16 |
11 | Univ Amsterdam | 2,427 | 132 | 18.39 |
12 | Univ Alabama | 2,370 | 63 | 37.62 |
13 | Univ Utrecht | 2,341 | 153 | 15.30 |
14 | HARVARD UNIV | 2,272 | 152 | 14.95 |
15 | Withington Hosp | 2,244 | 47 | 47.74 |
16 | Univ Penn | 2,179 | 98 | 22.23 |
17 | Univ So Calif | 2,148 | 106 | 20.26 |
18 | Natl Res Council Canada | 2,134 | 97 | 22.00 |
19 | Max Planck Society | 2,059 | 70 | 29.41 |
20 | Baylor Coll Med | 2,054 | 81 | 25.36 |
Full citation details of all of these institutions can be seen at the Special Topics page and in Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Clarivate.