Identifying 1996's Most-Cited Articles And Hottest Authors

Editor's Note: For the fifth year in a row, the newsletter Science Watch has identified the most cited research articles of the preceding year and determined who were the top producers of these "hot" papers. Based on citation records compiled by the Philadelphia-based Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), analysts prepared the rankings for 1996. "Hot" papers are research articles that have been referenced in subsequent papers-in this case, between November 1994 and December 1996-more frequently than other articles of the same type and vintage. For the first time in four years, a new researcher has garnered the most hot papers. Roger J. Davis, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was a coauthor of 11 of the most-cited articles. In the past, molecular biologists Bert Vogelstein and Kenneth Kinzler from Johns Hopkins University were repeatedly in the top slot. Science Watch's March/April 1997 article analyzing the rankings (8[2]:1, 1997) is reprinted here in part, with permission of the newsletter and ISI. For more information on the citation databases and papers discussed in the article, contact Christopher King, editor of Science Watch, at ISI, 3501 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104; (800) 523- 1850, Ext. 1341. Fax: (215) 387-1266, E-mail: cking@isinet.com. It's that time again: another year, another annual Science Watch roundup of hot papers and scientists. The [first table below] lists the researchers who have produced the greatest number of highly cited reports over the last two years, according to the latest update of the Institute for Scientific Information's Hot Papers Database. Scientists on the list have at least five publications in the Hot Papers Database as of November-December 1996. The 10 most-cited research papers of 1996 are listed in the [second table below]. Roger Davis Vishva Dixit Barry Hoffer Tony Hunter James Ihle Karin Eric Lander Granger Sutton Edward Witten A new name vaults into the top spot. Roger J. Davis, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, fielded 11 hot papers on mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathways and their role in cellular proliferation. Among his coauthors on seven of these papers is Benoit Derijard, who is now at the University of Nice, France. Derijard was an HHMI postdoctoral fellow in Davis's lab when these papers were published. Some familiar names appear among the featured scientists. Michael Karin, a signal transduction researcher at the University of California, San Diego, had seven hot papers. Karin also appeared on last year's list (Science Watch, 7[2]:1, 1996). Another returnee from last year is James N. Ihle, another signal transduction researcher, who works at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Ihle is a coauthor on six hot papers. Edward Witten, a theoretical physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., is this year's sole representative from the physical sciences. Another of this year's hot scientists, Tony Hunter from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., discussed protein kinases and signal transduction in an interview with Science Watch in 1994 (Science Watch, 5[10]:3, 1994). With seven hot papers on signal transduction and the cell death pathway, Vishva M. Dixit, a molecular biologist at the University of Michigan Medical School, grabbed a share of the No. 2 spot. Barry J. Hoffer, a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Boulder, scored with six studies on the action of glial cell line- derived neurotrophic factor. The field of genomics registered resoundingly, with three researchers-Carol J. Bult, Rebecca A. Clayton, and Granger G. Sutton-who all work at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, Md. These three researchers number among the collaborators on five hot papers presenting genome maps. One of these, a whole-genome map for the bacterium Haemophilis influenzae, is currently the most-cited paper in biology. Eric S. Lander, a genomics researcher at the Whitehead Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research in Cambridge, Mass., has produced five hot papers over the last two years. These describe maps of the human and mouse genomes, as well as discussions on trait inheritance and the interpretation of linkage studies. Rounding out the list is Douglas R. Green, a molecular biologist from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in La Jolla, Calif., whose five hot papers discuss various cellular mechanisms involved in programmed cell death. SCIENTISTS RANKED BY NUMBER OF HOT PAPERS RankNameInstitutionFieldHot Papers 1Roger J. DavisHHMI(1), University of MassachusettsSignal Transduction11 2Benoit DerijardMichael KarinVishva M. DixitHHMI, University of MassachusettsUniversity of California, San DiegoUniversity of MichiganSignal TransductionSignal TransductionSignal Transduction777 3Edward WittenJames N. IhleBarry J. HofferInstitute for Advanced StudySt. Jude Children's Research HospitalUniversity of ColoradoTheoretical PhysicsSignal TransductionNeuroscience666 4Carol J. BultRebecca A. ClaytonGranger G. SuttonEric S. LanderTony HunterDouglas R. GreenThe Institute for Genomics Research (TIGR)TIGRTIGRMIT(2)/Whitehead InstituteSalk InstituteLa Jolle Institute for Allergy and ImmunologyGenomicsGenomicsGenomicsGenomicsSignal TransductionMolecular Biology555555 1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Source: ISI's Hot Papers Database, Nov./Dec. 1994-Nov./Dec. 1996 --- MOST-CITED RESEARCH PAPERS OF 1996S RankPaperCitations Through Dec. 1996Citations Through Feb. 1997 1R.G. Will et al., "A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the U.K.," Lancet, 347:921-5,1996.69 83 2 C. Dib et al., "A comprehensive genetic map of the human genome based on 5,264 microsatellites," Nature, 380:152-4, 199665 105 3 R.V. Considine et al., "Serum immunoreactive-leptin concentrations in normal-weight and obese humans," New England Journal of Medicine, 334:292-5, 1996.63 113 4 Y. Feng et al., "HIV-1 entry cofactor: Functional cDNA cloning of a seven-transmembrane, G protein-coupled receptor," Science, 272:872-7,1996.62 108 5 J. Linnen et al., "Molecular cloning and disease association of hepatitis G virus: a transfusion-transmissible agent," Science, 271:505-8, 1996.61 90 6 S. Nakamura et al., "InGaN-based multi-quantum- well-structure laser diodes," Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 35:L74-6, 1996. 5894 7 G.-H. Lee et al., "Abnormal splicing of the leptin receptor in diabetic mice," Nature, 379:632-5, 1996.52 92 8 S.A. Hahn et al., "DPC4, a candidate tumor suppressor gene at human chromosome 18q21.1." Science, 271:350-3, 1996. 4563 9 H. Hsu et al., "TRADD-TRAF2 and TRADD-FADD interactions define two distinct TNF receptor 1 signal transduction pathways," Cell, 84:299-308, 1996 4459 10 H. Deng et al., "Identification of a major co-receptor for primary isolates of HIV-1," Nature, 381:661-6,1996.4172 Source: ISI's Hot Papers Database

Identifying 1996's Most-Cited Articles And Hottest Authors

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