Prof. Simon Alberti Among the Most Cited Researchers in the World

The annual summary by Clarivate Analytics has identified Prof. Simon Alberti as a Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) in the field of molecular biology and genetics. The award places him among the world’s most influential scientists of the last decade.

Stress is ubiquitous in today’s world. Prof. Simon Alberti at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of TU Dresden wants to understand the consequences of stress at the molecular level. The research in his group is centered on studying the cytoplasm of the cells. 

"The cytoplasm is a mysterious gelatinous substance inside the cells. It hosts the biochemical reactions that are essential for life,” says Prof. Simon Alberti, Chair for Cellular Biochemistry at the TU Dresden and a research group leader at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) since 2018. “How exactly the cytoplasm organizes itself is one of the great unanswered questions in biology. We use cell biology, biochemical, biophysical, genetic approaches, and various model systems to understand how the cytoplasm responds to environmental changes and stress.”

Prof. Alberti and his team are particularly interested in molecular condensates, also known as membraneless compartments. These newly found structures within the cytoplasm have unique properties that keep surprising researchers. The formation and role of molecular condensates are currently one of the fastest-developing research areas in biology.

Twelve Highly Cited Researchers at TU Dresden

This year, 6,938 researchers are on the list of "Highly Cited Researchers" (HCR). Among them are also 369 people working in Germany and twelve researchers from TU Dresden. Measured by the number of citations, they are the world's most influential scientists. With its twelve listed researchers, TUD is among the most highly represented institutions nationwide.

About Highly Cited Researchers

The ranking by the data company Clarivate Analytics lists scientists who have been involved in several of the most cited one percent of publications in their field per year of publication in the last decade. The evaluation is based on the "Web of Science Core Collection" database, which contains scientific articles from around 21,000 journals. For this year's list of "Highly Cited Researchers," the company analyzed the period from 2011 to 2021. In total, about 179,000 publications were among the one percent most cited per subject per year. In addition to the personal award for the researchers, the result is equally an expression of the performance strength of their teams.