NYU professors were among 6,938 researchers recognized for publishing the most cited papers over the past 10 years.
Professors Viral V. Acharya (left) and Shane A. Liddelow (right) have been named two of the most cited researchers in the world. (Courtesy of Shane A. Liddelow and Viral V. Acharya)
Twenty-three NYU professors were among the most cited researchers in 2022 worldwide, ranking in the top 1% of the most cited researchers in their field over the past decade. Annual listpublished on November 15 by the analytical company Clarivate, included 6,938 researchers from 69 countries and regions.
Harvey Paz, a lung cancer researcher at Grossman who was named the most cited researcher, noted the importance of research funding. Paz is interested in learning why early-stage lung cancer can sometimes persist after surgery, along with new methods and technologies for cancer treatment.
“The challenge has always been to ask the right questions, to keep up with the platform, and to have the funding to do it,” Paz said. “The questions you ask may not be that crazy, and the person you ask may be interested in creating a collaboration. And collaboration is what leads to scientific knowledge and significance.”
Paz added that he was humbled to be honored alongside researchers he considers leaders in the medical field.
Viral Acharya, professor of economics in the Stern School of Finance, has been on the list since 2019. Acharya said engineering education was a challenge in his economics and finance studies.
“There is always a delicate balance between doing academic research and maintaining the proper institutional framework and practical relevance of your work so that it actually means something to those who directly affect finance and the economy on a daily basis,” Acharya said. “People need to take risks, but have a solid foundation for thorough research.”
Another faculty member on the list, Shane Liddelow, is an associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology and principal investigator Liddelow Laboratory, a neuroscience research lab at NYU Langone. His research focuses on the potential applications of astrocytes – the most common type of brain cell in mammals – in new treatments and therapies. Liddelow said his lab has changed approaches to research questions, questioning established principles to create tools and models that can answer new questions.
Liddelow also said the listing shows the importance of his work related to neurodegeneration and neurodevelopmental disorders. He added that the number of institutions investing in research like his has grown, particularly in glial cells and neuroimmunology — the study of neurological conditions caused by malfunctions in the immune system.
“It’s always hard to challenge the status quo,” Liddelow said. “You need good support, and I had exceptional support at NYU, which allowed us to do the best science we could and deliver it on the ground.”
The full list of researchers includes David Abrams and Raymond Niaura of the School of Global Public Health, Viral Acharya of the Stern School of Business, Richard Bano of the Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Thomas Marcet and Theodore Rappaport of the Tandon School of Engineering, Brian Hall of NYU Shanghai and Neville Sanjana and Rahul Satija from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Fourteen faculty members from the Grossman School of Medicine—the NYU school with the most nominations—were named, including Giordi Buzsaki, Francisco Xavier Castellanos, Marylene Cloitre, Samuele Cortez, Orin Devinsky, Edward Fisher, Jacqueline French, Alec Kimelman, Kuruntachalam Kannan, Shane Liddelow, Dan Litman, Harvey Paz, Jeffrey Weber, and Kwok-Kin Wong.
Contact Grace Homan in [email protected]
