Health Sciences Profs Named Among Top 1% of Global Scientists on 2024 Highly Cited Research List
- FHS Communications
Clarivate Web of Science has named two Faculty of Health Sciences scientists in its 2024 Highly Cited Researchers List. Professors Frederick Raal and Shabir Madhi were ranked among the top 1% of scientists globally in recognition of the high impact of their published research in 2024.
To make it to the list, Raal and Madhi each authored and/or contributed to Highly Cited Papers™ in their respective fields of expertise. As part of the criteria that their work is judged against, each expert’s citation data undergoes a rigorous qualitative analysis and peer review process to test the merit of the rankings.
Research that benefits patients
The Wits Head of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Director of the Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism Research Unit, Professor Frederick Raal, has been highly cited in Clinical Medicine for the fourth consecutive year since 2021. Since 2010, both his research publication and citation activities have seen a steady rise, validating the high quality of his research output. To date, Professor Raal – who has also been highly cited in the field of Cross-Field in 2019, has published over 350 papers. He has a 60 H-Index – which measures a researcher’s impact by looking at both the number of their publications and how often those publications are cited by others.
“It is indeed an honour to be selected as a highly cited researcher and to know that your research is making a difference,” says Raal. Above all, he explains that this prestigious recognition encouraged him to persevere in his area of research interest, which has benefitted the patients he treats.
Asked to share insights on how to achieve a consistently relevant research career, Raal says that early career researchers should aim to publish their work in highly rated peer-reviewed journals, which favour high-quality research output over quantity. “As they advance through their careers, one of the goals should be international recognition in their field,” he adds.
Tailoring research for high-impact
Professor Shabir Madhi, the Dean of the Faculty and Director of Wits Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA), is also closely tied to patient care, with his extensive vaccine development activities. Madhi’s research is highly rankled cross-field, ranging from immunology to infectious diseases and microbiology, among other fields. He has an 87 Hi-Index and over 700 publications.
However, despite this distinguished recognition, he says, “The purpose of research is not to garner a high number of citations, but rather the high number of citations is a testimony to the relevance of the research being conducted at Wits-VIDA.”
Although there’s sometimes pressure for researchers to publish frequently to remain active, Madhi says the approach should rather be for researchers to have specific research goals, which ultimately leads to impactful research. “Producing impactful research is grounded in clarity of understanding what knowledge gaps exist, and tailoring the research to address the gaps, as opposed to publishing for the sake of publishing,” he explains.
Through Wits-VIDA, Madhi says he will continue to pursue research focused on addressing the most pressing issues related to infectious diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases.