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HKU ACADEMIC WAS "HOTTEST RESEARCHER"

08 Apr 2005

 

Publishing nine highly cited Hot Papers on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has earned the University of Hong Kong's (HKU) Malik Peiris the title "hottest researcher", according to the March/April issue of Science Watch – the bi-monthly newsletter published by Thomson Scientific, a business unit of the Thomson Corporation which carries out analysis of international research publications.

A published work is identified as a "Hot Paper" if it has achieved a rate of citations in scientific journals that is markedly higher than papers of comparable type and age. The researchers named in Science Watch published the most Hot Papers in the latest two-year period reviewed by Thomson Scientific. Only "non-review" articles – those presenting original research – are considered. While often highly cited, papers that review or summarize existing research are not included in the rankings.

Professor Peiris, with HKU's Department of Microbiology, topped the list with nine Hot Papers. Also within the top ranked field was Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, also with HKU's microbiology, with seven papers. Both Professor Malik Peiris and Professor KY Yuen commented that the rankings were the result of the team effort between many researchers at HKU. The rankings recognize 16 researchers at 12 institutions. The University of Hong Kong, The Institute for Genomic Research (U.S.A.) and Erasmus University (Netherlands) are home to two Hot Papers authors each. The full list is as follows:

"Hottest" Researchers, ranked by number of Hot Papers:
(Ordered in each tier by average citations per Hot Paper)

Nine Hot Papers
Malik Peiris - University of Hong Kong - Microbiology

Eight Hot Papers
Claire M. Fraser - Institute for Genomic Research - Genomics

Seven Hot Papers
Henry R. Black - Rush Univ. Medical Center - Clinical Medicine
Wilina Lim - Hong Kong Dept. Health - Virology
Kwok-Yung Yuen - University of Hong Kong - Microbiology
Albert D.M.E. Osterhaus - Erasmus University - Virology
Arkady A. Tseytlin - Ohio State University - Physics

Six Hot Papers
Ron A.M. Fouchier - Erasmus University - Virology
Rory Collins - CTSU, Univ. Of Oxford - Epidemiology
Ian T. Paulsen - Institute for Genomic Research - Genomics
Shizuo Akira - Osaka University - Immunology
Jeffrey A. Munn - U.S. Naval Observatory – Astronomy
Robert H. Lupton - Princeton University - Astronomy
Sergey A. Frolov - SUNY Inst. Technology - App. Math/Physics
Donald G. York - University of Chicago - Astronomy
Daniel J. Jacob - Harvard University - Atmos. Chemistry