Twenty-three NYU professors were among 2022’s most-cited researchers worldwide, ranking in the top 1% of citations in their field over the past decade. The annual list, released on Nov. 15 by analytics firm Clarivate, included 6,938 researchers from 69 countries and regions.

Harvey Pass, a lung cancer researcher at Grossman who was named a most-cited researcher, noted the importance of funding in scientific research. Pass is interested in studying why early-stage lung cancer can sometimes persist after an operation, along with new cancer treatment techniques and technology.

“The challenge has always been asking the right questions, keeping up with the platform, as well as having the funding to do that,” Pass said. “The questions that you pose may not be so crazy, and the person you ask may be interested in forming a collaboration. And collaborations are what lead to scientific knowledge and relevance.”

Pass added that he was humbled to be honored alongside researchers whom he considers leaders in the medical field.

Viral Acharya, an economics professor in the finance department at Stern, has been on the list since 2019. Acharya said that coming from an engineering background has been a challenge in his economic and finance research.

“There is always a delicate balance between doing academic research versus maintaining the right institutional grounding and practical relevance of your work so that it actually means something for those directly affected by finance and economics on a day to day basis,” Acharya said. “People need to take risks but have a sound foundation to do research in a rigorous way.”

Another listed faculty member, Shane Liddelow, is an assistant professor in the department of neuroscience and physiology and the principal investigator of the Liddelow Lab, a neurology research lab at NYU Langone. His research focuses on potential applications of astrocyte cells — the most common kind of brain cell found in mammals — in new treatments and therapies. Liddelow said that his lab has changed approaches to research questions by questioning established principles to create tools and models that can answer new questions.

Liddelow also said that being included on the list shows the significance of his work surrounding neurodegeneration and neurodevelopmental disorders. He added that the number of institutions investing in research like his has grown, particularly in glial cells and neuroimmunology — the study of neurological conditions caused by malfunctions in the immune system.

“It is always difficult to stand up to the status quo,” Liddelow said. “You need good support, and I have had exceptional support at NYU enabling us to do the best science we can and provide that to the field.” 

The full list of researchers includes David Abrams and Raymond Niaura from the School of Global Public Health, Viral Acharya from the Stern School of Business, Richard Bonneau from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Thomas Marzetta and Theodore Rappaport from the Tandon School of Engineering, Brian Hall from NYU Shanghai, and Neville Sanjana and Rahul Satija from the College of Arts and Science. 

Fourteen faculty members from the Grossman School of Medicine — the NYU school with the most nominations — were listed, including Gyorgy Buzsaki, Francisco Xavier Castellanos, Marylene Cloitre, Samuele Cortese, Orrin Devinsky, Edward Fisher, Jacqueline French, Alec Kimmelman, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Shane Liddelow, Dan Littman, Harvey Pass, Jeffrey Weber and Kwok-Kin Wong. 

Contact Grace Homan at [email protected].