Prominent and Influential Research

Researchers whose publications are read and cited by many people also have the greatest impact on the research in their field. If their publications receive a high degree of attention around the world, they have a good chance of making the Highly Cited Researchers list. The ranking is based on the Web of Science database and includes more than 6,000 of the most cited and most influential researchers from 21 scientific fields. Ten researchers from the University of Freiburg, its Medical Center and the University Heart Center Freiburg – Bad Krozingen are on this year’s list, which includes publications spanning from 2009 to 2019. The ranking is published on the website of the company Clarivate Analytics.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bauhus, who is Professor of Silviculture and spokesperson for the Institute of Forest Sciences, and his team primarily research the development dynamics of forests, carbon and nutrient cycles, and the function of diversity in tree species and structures. Also on the list is Prof. Dr. Carsten Dormann, who is head of the Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis at the Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, focuses his research on the comparison and development of methods in statistical ecology – for example, for the analysis of ecological networks. Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein, Department Head Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, investigates how bee pollination or the natural control of insect populations affects ecosystem functions. Klein's work focuses on understanding the effects of environmental factors on macroorganisms and developing measures to improve biodiversity, including the protection of beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes, urban areas and forests. Finally, Prof. Dr. Edward Pearce, who is Professor of Immunobiology at the Institute of Biology III and senior group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, is also a Highly Cited Researcher. He researches inflammation, immunity to parasitic infections and cancer, as well as dynamic metabolic changes that occur when immune cells are activated.

From the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg and the University Heart Center Freiburg – Bad Krozingen, the following researchers also made the Highly Cited Researchers list: Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz, Medical Director of the Institute of Neuropathology; Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme, Medical Director of the Department of Internal Medicine II; Prof. Dr. Jörg Meerpohl, Director of the Institute for Evidence in Medicine; Prof. Dr. Bertram Bengsch from the Department of Internal Medicine II, Prof. Dr. Franz-Josef Neumann, Medical Director of the Department of Cardiology and Angiology II of the University Heart Center Freiburg · Bad Krozingen, and Dr. Lukas Schwingshackl from the Institute of Evidence in Medicine.

Highly Cited Researchers list

Press release of the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg (German)

Updated November 26, 2020:
Due to an error in the Clarivate database, the university only found out later that Alexandra-Maria Klein was also on this year's list of “Highly Cited Researchers”. The press release has now been amended accordingly.