Four Murdoch University academics and one adjunct have been recognised as among the world’s best with the release of the 2023 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers.
Professor Davey Jones and Professor Rajeev Varshney from the Food Futures Institute and Health Futures Institute researchers Professor Jeremy Nicholson and Professor Elizabeth Phillips have made the exclusive list.
In addition, Food Futures Institute Adjunct Professor Xin Liu from the Beijing Genomics Institute has also been recognised.
It is the 10th time since 2014 that Professor Varshney has made the list, and eighth mention for Professor Nicholson and Professor Jones.
Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers are one in 1,000, selected for their exceptional performance in one or more of 21 broad fields and having demonstrated significant influence through publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.
Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top one per cent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index.
Murdoch’s Highly Cited researchers in 2023 represent the University’s expertise in health and agricultural sciences.
Professor Varshney is a global leader in crop genomics leading a team, including Professor Xin, at the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation that is solving the world’s food security problems as we head towards a future impacted by climate change.
Meanwhile at the Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems and SoilsWest, Professor Davey Jones’ focus is below the ground looking at nutrient and human pathogen behaviour in microbial systems and leading a global study to address gaps in knowledge about microplastic soil pollution.
At the Health Futures Institute’s Australian National Phenome Centre and Centre for Immunogenomics, Immunology and Infectious Diseases respectively, Professor Nicholson and Professor Phillips are making discoveries critical to the fight against some of the world’s most insidious illnesses.
Murdoch University Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Peter Eastwood congratulated the researchers and said they had contributed to extending the frontiers of knowledge gaining with innovations that make the world healthier, more sustainable, and more secure.
“All of our academics at Murdoch make lasting contributions to research and education, however this recognition at the highest level demonstrates the multidisciplinary translational research with real-life impact that we strive for,” he said.
An exceptionally high citation record is a mark of a researcher’s influence and acknowledgement of their important foundational work, on which they and others are building further research. The annual Highly Cited list is considered the world’s foremost authoritative collection.
“The Highly Cited Researchers list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at Murdoch University whose significant and broad influence in their fields translates to impact in their research community and innovations that make the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure,” David Pendlebury, Head of Research Analysis at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate, said
“Their contributions resonate far beyond their individual achievements, strengthening the foundation of excellence and innovation in research.”