Research: Citation Superstars Of NIH: Most-Cited Scientists, 1981-88

During its centenary year in 1987, scientists and policymakers alike hailed the National Institutes of Health as the "crown jewel" of the U.S. government's biomedical research enterprise. And today, despite administrative problems, such as complaints of noncompetitive pay for senior investigators and occasional public embarrassments, such as undisclosed conflicts of interest (see Science 248:676, 1990), NIH is still home to some of the world's most distinguished biomedical scientists. The Scientist was quickly able to identify 10 NIH researchers in its recently compiled list of most-cited scientists of the 1980s. This list is derived from the files of the Science Citation Index, published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in Philadelphia. Those whose names appear in the accompanying table all rank among the 100 most-cited scientists of the period 1981-88 - that's the top 100 out of more than 1.3 million scientists whose citation histories were reviewed. In other words, these government scientists represent a super-elite - those who stand in the top one-hundreth of 1 percent in terms of citations during the last decade. Or, to put it another way, NIH employs no less than 10 percent of the world's 100 most-cited biomedical scientists of the last decade. That's a fact worth contemplating, and it in part corroborates a 1988 study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) ("A Healthy NIH Intramural Program: Structural Change or Administrative Remedies?") that reported "no serious decline in quality has occurred" in recent years, a finding also reported by The Scientist that same year (July 11, 1988, page 15). One recommendation of the IOM committee was the establishment of "up to ten endowed chairs for distinguished investigators." If that idea ever gets translated into reality, The Scientist's list of most-cited NIH scientists might be one good indicator of who the occupants of those chairs might be. Clearly there are other indicators of excellence that would be used, not the least of which is peer review. Citation impact is only one measure of influence and prestige. Readers of The Scientist will not be surprised that Robert C. Gallo, 53, chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the most-cited NIH scientist of the 1980s. In fact, his total of 23,232 citations makes Gallo the most-cited scientist in the world during 1981-88. The 1980s was a decade in which AIDS was the dominant focus of biomedical research, and Gallo was perhaps the chief and most visible investigator of this disease. Thousands of papers and newspaper articles have already appeared on the science of AIDS, as well as on the sociology of scientific discoveries concerning HIV. Here space permits only a sketch of Gallo's impact among his peers, as reflected by citations to his papers. Gallo's most-cited paper of the decade was published in 1984 (Science, 224:500-3) and had collected 1,496 citations by the end of 1988. This article, reporting the frequent detection and isolation of HIV (then called HTLV-III) in AIDS patients, was the 10th most-cited of the decade, too (The Scientist, Jan. 8, 1990, page 20). There are, of course, dozens of other highly cited papers by Gallo and his colleagues dealing with HIV and other topics that were published during the 1980s, accounting for the rest of his impressive citation record. Of the 100 most-cited papers by scientists at NCI during the period 1973-88, Gallo wrote 11 of them, and six appeared during 1981-88; moreover, his name is on five of the 10 most-cited papers for 1973-88. And even before his work on AIDS, Gallo ranked among the world's most-cited Scientists. He placed 37th for the period 1973-84 (The Scientist, Feb. 19, 1990, page 22) and within the top 300 for the period 1965-78 (E. Garfield, Essays of an Information Scientist, vol. 5, Philadelphia, ISI, 1983, page 271). The second-ranking NIH scientist of the 1980s is Anthony S. Fauci, 49, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), director of the NIH Office of AIDS Research, and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation. Like Gallo, Fauci is strongly associated with the battle against AIDS. He has written numerous papers on the nature of the immune defect in AIDS and on the pathogenesis of HIV. One recent review, entitled "The human immunodeficiency virus: Infectivity and mechanisms of pathogenesis" (Science, 239:617-22), published in February 1988, has already received more than 300 citations. Since May 1989, this paper has held the distinction of being the most-cited paper in medicine among those published during the last two years, according to the newsletter Science Watch (vol. 1, no. 4, April 1990, page 6). Among the 1.3 million scientists publishing during 1981-88, Fauci was the eighth most-cited. Like Gallo, Fauci's publications were also well cited before the 1980s. He was the 49th most-cited scientist of 1973-84 (The Scientist, Feb. 19, 1990, page 22), and at least a dozen of his papers from the 1970s have been cited more than 200 times. Of the 100 most-cited papers from NIAID scientists during 1973-88, Fauci was author or coauthor of a dozen. Half of those 12 were published in 1981-88, the most-cited being "Abnormalities of B cell activation and immunoregulation in patients with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome" (New England Journal of Medicine, 309:453, 1983), with 536 citations by the end of 1988. He also fielded three of the 10 most-cited papers from NIAID that were published during 1973-88. Ira H. Pastan, 59, chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of NCI, turned out to be the third most-cited NIH scientist of the 1980s. Pastan, a biochemist and endocrinologist, has been among the super-elite for more than three decades: He was the 39th most-cited scientist of 1965-78, the 49th of the period 1973-84, and 33rd overall for 1981-88. Pastan wrote six of the 100 most-cited NCI papers published during 1973-88. The most-cited for the years 1981-88 was "Journey to the center of the cell: Role of the receptosome" (Science, 214:504, 1981), which accumulated 394 citations by the end of 1988. Pastan's research interests are wide-ranging. Topics represented among his most-cited papers include the role of cyclic nucleotides in growth control, cell-surface proteins and transformed fibroblasts, epidermal growth factors, and the activities of the Rous sarcoma virus. Over the years, Pastan has written no fewer than 50 papers cited more than 100 times, and more than 10 cited in excess of 300 times each. Another highly cited NCI scientist is Thomas A. Waldmann, 59, chief of the Metabolism Branch. He is ranked fourth in the list, with 6,799 citations, not far behind Pastan. Waldmann ranks 34th for the period 1981-88. His field is the regulation of the immune system and disorders of the immune response in immunodeficiency diseases and malignancy. During his long career at NCI, which began in 1956, he has defined new immunodeficiency diseases, helped explain the role of T-lymphocytes and macrophages in suppression of the immune system, and focused on the interleukin-2 receptor and its role in growth and differentiation of normal and malignant T-cells. Waldmann's most-cited paper of the period 1981-88, with 843 citations, is "A monoclonal antibody (anti-Tac) reactive with activated and functionally mature human T cells" (Journal of Immunology, 126:1393, 1981). Using this monoclonal antibody, Waldmann developed an effective therapy for adult T-cell leukemia. Waldmann's name appears on five of the 100 most-cited papers from NCI during 1973-88, and two of these appeared in 1981-88. He ranks among the 300 most-cited scientists of 1965-78 and 215th for the period 1973-84 (The Scientist, July 11, 1990, page 23). Name Title Institute Age Citations 1981-88 1. Robert C. Gallo Director, Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, NCI 53 23,232 2. Anthony S. Fauci Director, NIAID Director, Office of AIDS Research Chief, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, NIAID 49 10,617 3. Ira H. Pastan Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NCI 59 6,858 4. Thomas A. Waldmann Chief, Metabolism Branch, NCI 59 6,799 5. Stuart A. Aaronson Chief, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, NCI 48 5,876 6. Michael B. Sporn Chief, Laboratory of Chemoprevention, NCI 57 5,752 7. William E. Paul Chief, Laboratory of Immunology, NIAID 54 5,678 8. Ronald G. Crystal Chief, Pulmonary Branch, NHLBI 49 5,377 9. John W. Daly Chief, Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, NIDDKD 57 5,223 10. Steven A. Rosenberg Chief, Surgery Department, NCI 49 5,000+ (estimate) SOURCE: ISI's Science Citation Index, 1981-88. At 48, Stuart A. Aaronson is the youngest on the list of NIH's most-cited scientists. He has been at NCI since 1967 and has been chief of its Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology since 1977. Aaronson's field is oncology and, more specifically, the molecular genetics of cancer and the role of growth factors and their receptors in cellular growth regulation. Of the 100 most-cited NCI papers published during 1973-88, Aaronson wrote or co-wrote four, and two were published in the period 1981-88. His most-cited article of the 1980s is "Translocation of the c-mycgene into the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus in human Burkitt lymphoma and murine plasmacytoma cells" (PNAS-Biology, 79:7837, 1982), which collected 561 citations by the end of 1988. Aaronson has written at least a half dozen papers cited more than 300 times. According to ISI's citation data, he ranks 88th for the period 1965-78 (The Scientist, March 19, 1990, page 22) and 124th for the period 1973-84 (The Scientist, April 16, 1990, page 22). For the period 1981-88, Aaronson's rank is 46th. The sixth most-cited NIH scientist of 1981-88 is Michael B. Sporn, 57, chief of the Laboratory of Chemoprevention at NCI, a post he has held since 1978. Sporn, whose specialty is also oncology (specifically lung cancer, growth factors, and cancer prevention), fielded two of NCI's 100 most-cited papers of 1973-88, and his most-cited of the period 1981-88 is "Transforming growth factor-b in human platelets: Identification of a major storage site, purification, and characterization" (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 258:7155, 1983), with 368 citations by the end of 1988. At least six of Sporn's papers have been cited more than 300 times each. For the period 1981-88, Sporn was the world's 51st most-cited scientist. NIAID once again comes into view with the seventh-ranked researcher on the list: William E. Paul, 54, chief of NIAID's Laboratory of Immunology, whose papers published in 1981-88 collected 5,678 citations by the end of 1988. Paul's specialty is cellular immunology and immunogenetics, with a concentration on regulation of lymphocyte activation, differentiation, and proliferation, and the role of lymphokines in the immune response. Paul is an author of 12 of the 100 most-cited NIAID papers published during 1973-88. Three of those appeared in 1981-88, the most-cited of which is "Identification of a T-cell derived B-cell growth factor distinct from interleukin-2" (Journal of Experimental Medicine, 155:914, 1982), which accumulated 537 citations by the end of 1988. Paul is the 53rd most-cited scientist of 1981-88, according to ISI; he was the 88th most-cited of 1973-84 and the 87th of the period 1965-78 (The Scientist, March 19, 1990, page 22). The eighth most-cited NIH scientist, Ronald G. Crystal, 49, is the only representative of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in the list. Since 1975 he has been chief of NHLBI's Pulmonary Branch. Crystal's name appears on seven of the 100 most-cited NHLBI papers of 1973-88 and on two that were published during 1981-88. His most-cited work of the 1980s, with more than 300 citations, is "Interstitial lung disease: Current concepts of pathogenesis, staging, and therapy" (American Journal of Medicine, 70:542, 1981). Crystal was recently in the news for his work on the genetic defect underlying emphysema and his attempt to use gene therapy to supply the protein, alpha 1-antitrypsin, that emphysema sufferers lack (Business Week, May 28, 1990, page 70). Crystal is the 59th most-cited scientist of 1981-88. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDKD) is represented by John W. Daly, 57, chief of the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry since 1981. Daly's work has centered on biochemistry and neurochemistry generally and on natural products, amines, cyclic nucleotides, and other neuroactive compounds. Daly's citation total of 5,223 makes him the 62nd most-cited scientist of 1981-88. His most-cited paper of this period is "Adenosine receptors in the central nervous system: Relationship to the central actions of methylxanthines" (Life Sciences, 28:2083, 1981), which attracted 317 citations by the end of 1988. Daly's citation count reflects numerous high-impact papers rather than one or two "blockbusters." According to ISI's data, at least 10 of Daly's papers have been cited more than 300 times over the years. Steven A. Rosenberg, 49, chief of surgery at NCI, is also among the NIH top 10, although precisely where he ranks has not yet been ascertained precisely. According to The Scientist's estimate, his papers accumulated at least 5,000 citations during the period 1981-88. The problem, unfortunately, is that citations to the papers of Saul A. Rosenberg, an oncologist at Stanford University and also a highly cited scientist, are intertwined with those of Steven A. Rosenberg in the data that The Scientist examined. Steven A. Rosenberg has two papers among the 100 most-cited of NCI for 1973-88, and both date from the period 1981-88. The most-cited is "Lymphokine-activated killer-cell phenomenon: Lysis of natural-killer resistant fresh solid tumor cells by interleukin-2 activated autologous human peripheral-blood lymphocytes" (Journal of Experimental Medicine, 155:1823, 1982), which had attracted 688 citations by the end of 1988. More recently, Rosenberg's 1988 paper on the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and interleukin-2 in the treatment of metastatic melanoma (New England Journal of Medicine, 319:1676) has achieved "top 10" status among papers in clinical medicine published in the last two years, according to Science Watch (vol. 1, no. 4, April 1990, page 6). Rosenberg has recently published an overview of his work in the field of adoptive immunotherapy in Scientific American (265:62, 1990). Finally, it should be noted that all 10 researchers on the list are career NIH scientists. Their average length of service is 27 years. In these days of greater job mobility and of financial rewards in academia and industry that greatly surpass those in civil service, the decision to make NIH their research home is as laudable as their stellar citation records. David Pendlebury, an analyst in the Research Department at the Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia, is editor of ISI's monthly newsletter, Science Watch.

Research: Citation Superstars Of NIH: Most-Cited Scientists, 1981-88

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