Four academics from the University of Birmingham have been named as Highly Cited Researchers in a prestigious list of the world’s leading scientific minds. 

Published by Thomson Reuters, the high-impact list represents some of the world’s most influential scientists whose work has been consistently judged by their peers to be of particular significance.

The Birmingham academics earned the distinction by writing the greatest numbers of reports officially designated by Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited Papers. This ranks them among the top 1% most cited for their subject field and year of publication between 2002 and 2012, earning them the mark of exceptional impact.

The University of Birmingham researchers featured are:

Professor Yulong Ding 

Chamberlain Chair of Chemical Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering – Highview Chair of Cryogenic Energy Storage, School of Chemical Engineering

Professor Yulong Ding trained as a thermophysicist and then a chemical engineer. His research has been multidisciplinary, across chemical engineering, chemistry, energy engineering and bioengineering. His current research interests cover both fundamental and applied aspects, with the fundamental research focusing on multiphase transport phenomena across the length scales, and the applied research concentrating on new energy storage technologies, novel thermodynamic cycles and nanostructured materials for energy harvesting and storage applications. Professor Ding has filed 13 patents and published more than 400 papers, with more than 180 papers in peer reviewed journals.

Professor Gregory YH Lip 

Consultant Cardiologist & Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Director – Haemostasis Thrombosis & Vascular Biology Unit, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences

Professor Gregory YH Lip has had a major interest into the epidemiology of atrial fibrillation (AF), the commonest cardiac rhythm disorder, as well as the pathophysiology of thromboembolism in this arrhythmia. Furthermore, he has been researching stroke and bleeding risk factors, and improvements in clinical risk stratification. The CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores for assessing stroke and bleeding risk respectively were first proposed and independently validated following his research and are now incorporated into major international management guidelines, including those from Europe, USA and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In January 2014, Professor Lip was ranked by Expertscape as the world's leading expert in the understanding and treatment of AF.

Professor Jane McKeating

Professor of Molecular Virology, Deputy Head of School, School of Immunity and Infection

Professor Jane McKeating set up the hepatitis C virus (HCV) group at the Medical School in January 2005. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanism of hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry into the liver and how the virus persists to evade the innate and adaptive immune responses. Development of multi-cellular systems comprising hepatocytes and non-parenchymal liver cells have enabled Professor McKeating to uncover new pathways that regulate viral replication. Her group is exploring the impact of viral and bacterial co-infection on HCV pathogenesis and the role persistent HCV replication plays in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The group is involved in a wide range of local and international collaborative studies.

Professor Stephen Wood

Professor of Adolescent Brain Development and Mental Health, School of Psychology

Professor Stephen Wood’s research aims to understand the health paradox of adolescence; the years between 12 and 25 are a time of great physical fitness, yet this is the period during which 75% of all mental disorders have their onset. Why should this be the case? The disorder he has spent most time investigating is schizophrenia, largely through the study of young people at very high risk of developing the disorder. Professor Wood is now interested in understanding what predicts their functional outcome and how abnormalities of specific brain networks can be corrected through psychological and pharmaceutical interventions. Most of his work involves the interface between neuroimaging, cognitive science and psychiatry.

ENDS

The full Thomson Reuters list can be found here: www.isihighlycited.com 

For interview requests for more information or to request a copy of the full report, please contact Ben Goodwin, International Media Relations Manager, University of Birmingham, Tel: +44 (0) 121 414 8254. For out of hours media enquiries, please call: +44 (0) 7789 921 165.

  • The University of Birmingham has been named The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year 2013/4. 
  • The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 4,000 international students from nearly 150 countries.