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Newswise — Three faculty members at Sanford Burnham Prebys are among the most influential scientists worldwide in the 2024 rankings by the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate.

Clarivate publishes the Highly Cited Researchers list each year to recognize individuals demonstrating significant and broad scientific influence.

, president and CEO of the institute, was recognized for contributions in the cross-field category, which focuses on researchers who have advanced multiple research areas.

, director of the , also was cited for contributions in the cross-field category.

, an educational affiliate professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was noted for contributions in the cross-field category.

“The Highly Cited Researchers list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys who are having a significant impact on the research community as evidenced by the rate at which their work is being cited by their peers,” said David Pendlebury, head of Research Analysis at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate.

“These individuals are helping to transform human ingenuity into our world’s greatest breakthroughs – and it is an honor to celebrate their achievements.”

The list highlights 6,636 researchers from more than 1,200 institutions in 59 countries and regions. Because some researchers were noted for contributions in more than one field, a total of 6,886 designations were issued.

With 2,507 American researchers named to the list, the United States had the greatest number of highly cited researchers, representing 36.4 percent of the complete list.

David A. Brenner, MD

Brenner was named president and chief executive officer of Sanford Burnham Prebys in September 2022 after serving as vice chancellor for health sciences at UC San Diego and dean of its school of medicine for an unprecedented 15 years. As a distinguished physician-scientist, Brenner is a recognized leader in the field of gastroenterology research, with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and two patents. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine; past president of the Association of American Physicians and former editor of the journal Gastroenterology (2001 to 2006).

Randal J. Kaufman, PhD

Randal J. Kaufman has a legacy of scientific contribution that extends across academia and industry alike. His landmark studies in the 1980s contributed to the discovery of the unfolded protein response, a ubiquitous cellular stress response that occurs when misfolded proteins accumulate in cells. This response has been associated with an enormous array of human diseases, including cancer, neurological, metabolic, genetic and inflammatory disorders, as well as the symptoms associated with aging. Today, his work continues to focus on explaining how and why misfolded proteins contribute to cell malfunctions and death, and his findings continue to shape the research of others through his highly cited publications.

Tariq M. Rana, PhD

Rana, a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego, is a multidisciplinary scientist who is developing new therapies to treat infectious diseases, cancer and immune disorders. His research focuses on elucidating the function of regulatory RNAs, and his team has helped to uncover RNAi, chemical rules to develop RNA medicines, fundamental structural and functional features of small RNAs, and RNP complexes required for gene silencing in human cells. The common thread running through all aspects of his research is his passion to reveal the architecture and function of RNA regulatory machines and their role in modulating biological functions.