25 Utrecht scientists on list Highly Cited Researchers

The list of the 1 percent most cited scientists of the past ten years includes 25 scientists from Utrecht University. The annual list was published on 19 November by Clarivate Analytics, an American company that offers services for scientific research.

The list of researchers that are most cited by their colleagues is led by America (44 percent), China (10.2 percent) and the United Kingdom (8.3 percent). The Netherlands ranks seventh - after Germany, Australia and Canada - with 164 scientists: 2.6 percent of the total. Of these, 25 are affiliated with Utrecht University; eight scientists are part of the Faculty of Science.

Citations are by no means a sanctity, but this list is a good indicator of the impact of the research

It is remarkabele that of the beta-scientists on the list, three are in the same research group: Corné Pieterse, Saskia van Wees and Peter Bakker all belong to the group Plant-Microbe Interactions. "The researchers on this list are among the top 1 percent of the most cited researchers within a discipline. If you are among the top 1 percent over a period of ten years, you will be on this list", says Corné Pieterse, group leader of Plant-Microbe Interactions. "Citations are by no means a sanctity, but this list is a good indicator of the impact of the research."

Research with impact

The fact that three researchers from the same research group are on the list shows that plant research in Utrecht is the top of the range. "Our work is apparently often quoted. The fact that the three of us are on the list is probably because we always try to work on general principles and new concepts in plant biology. Discoveries are then widely applicable in the field, which in turn results in many citations," explains Pieterse.

There is increasing interest in the research field of interactions between microbes and crops, notes Pieterse. "In our group, we are concerned with the immune system of plants and how it can offer protection against plant diseases. More and more research is being done into this. The demand for sufficient and sustainably produced food is becoming increasingly urgent. We have made important discoveries about how the microbiome of plants can stimulate the immune system of plants. These discoveries can contribute to making agriculture more sustainable in the future. Not only do we do good science, but our research also has broad social relevance."