UC San Diego School of Medicine boasts more “Top 100 AD Investigators” than any other institution in the world
Seven researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are listed among the top 100 Alzheimer’s disease investigators in the world according to an article in the March issue of the
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, published by Netherlands-based IOS press. UC San Diego had more researchers on the top 100 list than any other institution in the world; a total of 11 were from UC institutions.
“I am extremely proud that so many UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers have been recognized for their important contributions to finding treatments or a cure for this devastating disease, which impacts so many lives and so many families,” said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
UC San Diego researchers in the top 100 include Eliezer Masliah, MD, David P. Salmon, PhD, Edward H. Koo, MD, and Douglas Galasko, MD, of the department of neurosciences and the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; and Lawrence A. Hansen, MD, of the departments of pathology and neurosciences. Also included in the list are two former chairs of the department of neurosciences, Leon Thal, MD, who passed away in 2007, and Robert Katzman, MD, who passed away in 2008.
Aaron A. Sorensen of Switzerland-based Collexis Holdings Inc. conducted the first-ever objective analysis of Alzheimer’s disease research. His analysis focused on three areas of measurement: total citations, total publications and the H-index, which quantifiably measures a scientist’s or group’s productivity and the impact of that research.
For example, researcher Eliezer Masliah, was ranked #12 on the list of “most prolific” investigators for the period January 1, 1985 through April 21, 2008, with a total of 324 published papers. He also ranked #13 in ‘most-cited authors” with 18,636 scientific citations for his work with nerve tissue proteins, and #7 for the total impact of that research.
UC San Diego’s Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center conducts a wide variety of research studies dedicated to understanding the causes, clinical features, and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders. Its goal is to discover ways to prevent and ultimately eradicate this disease. The center is also one of 35 university medical centers nationwide designated to carry out clinical trials coordinated by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, created by the National Institute on Aging and headquartered at UC San Diego.
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Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163,
ddkain@ucsd.edu