Salk Institute ranks top for "Highest Impact" research in Neuroscience and Behavior

June 30, 2009

Salk Institute ranks top for “Highest Impact” research in Neuroscience and Behavior

June 30, 2009

LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies garnered the top discovery spot in the latest international ranking in the category “Neuroscience and Behavior” by Science Watch, a scientific organization that measures the citation impact of research published worldwide. Citations are an important measure of the value and influence of scientists’ work and reflect the impact made by that work on scientific understanding.

“The importance of this ranking is conferred by the judgment of peers in the same field, who mark the research of Salk scientists as points of departure for their own work,” says Salk president William R. Brody. “Paper for paper they wield tremendous influence and set the direction for the future.”

Naturally, big institutions publishing large numbers of papers have a greater likelihood of collecting more citations than smaller institutions publishing fewer papers. In order to reveal the “heavy hitters” based on per paper influence, not mere overall output, all rankings are based on citation per paper.

Science Watch, produced by Thomson Reuters in Philadelphia, openly publishes institutional impact scores for different areas of science only intermittently, but in the company’s online evaluation system Essential Science Indicators and related databases, the Salk Institute consistently emerges in top spots. Last year, for example, it ranked second worldwide in the category “Molecular Biology and Genetics”.

“The consistency of our high rankings at the Salk Institute reaffirms our belief in the power of curiosity, creativity and problem-driven science,” says Brody. “The international impact of our faculty’s work reveals the extraordinary quality of Salk science.”

The Science Watch rankings draw upon publication and citation date from Thomson Reuter’s Essential Science Indicators database, which covers the last ten years and surveys original research reports and review articles.

To view the complete Science Watch listings please click here for:

Neuroscience and Behavior (http://sciencewatch.com/dr/sci/09/apr26-09_1D/)

Molecular Biology and Genetics (http://sciencewatch.com/dr/sci/08/may25-08_4/)

关于索尔克生物研究所： 索尔克生物研究所是世界上最杰出的基础研究机构之一，其国际知名的教职人员在独特、协作和富有创造性的环境中探索生命科学的基本问题。索尔克科学家专注于发现和指导未来几代研究人员，通过研究神经科学、遗传学、细胞生物学和植物生物学以及相关学科，在癌症、衰老、阿尔茨海默病、糖尿病和心血管疾病的认识方面做出了开创性的贡献。.

学院取得了许多成就，获得了包括诺贝尔奖和美国国家科学院院士在内的无数荣誉。该研究所由脊髓灰质炎疫苗先驱 Jonas Salk 博士于 1960 年创立，是一家独立的非营利组织和建筑地标。.