Seven faculty members in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were named to the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers, which recognizes scientists for exceptional performance. Professors Adam Bogdanove, James Giovannoni, Johannes Lehmann, Rui Hai Liu, Susan McCouch, Mark Sorrells and Klaas van Wijk were identified as among the most influential contemporary researchers in the world.
Clarivate Analytics compiled its elite list of scientists and social scientists by analyzing papers ranked in the top 1 percent by citations for their field and year from 2006 to 2016.
A new cross-field category was added this year to recognize researchers with influence in several fields. Bogdanove, professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, and McCouch, professor in the SIPS Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics, earned that honor.
A total of 35 scientists from Cornell made the list. The CALS professors and their specialties include:
Adam Bogdanove, SIPS, Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology: Bogdanove's research centers on the development of broad-spectrum, durable disease resistance in crop plants with a particular focus on diseases caused by bacteria that deploy host DNA binding proteins called TAL effectors. Bogdanove pioneered the use of TAL effectors as customizable DNA targeting tools for applications such as targeted gene regulation (dTALEs) and genome editing (TALENs), and his current efforts include genome editing for crop improvement.
- James Giovannoni, SIPS, Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics, and U.S.D.A. Agriculture Research Service: Giovannoni researches the molecular and genetic control of fruit ripening. His lab investigates the regulation of ripening using tomato as a model system.
- Johannes Lehmann, SIPS, Section of Soil and Crop Sciences: Lehmann’s research and teaching centers on soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility management, with a specialization in soil organic matter and nutrient studies of managed and natural ecosystems.
- Rui Hai Liu, Department of Food Science: Liu’s research program is focused on diet and cancer. He studies the effects of foods on chronic diseases as well as compounds in natural products and herbal remedies for anti-cancer activities.
- Susan McCouch, SIPS, Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics: McCouch’s research focuses on rice and includes publication of the first molecular map of the rice genome in 1988. She studies disease resistance, drought tolerance, maturity and yield, and the performance of modern, high-yielding cultivars.
- Mark Sorrells, SIPS, Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics: Sorells’ research utilizes technologies encompassing molecular genetics, physiology, pathology and breeding to research strategies that contribute to the development of improved crop varieties.
- Klaas van Wijk, SIPS, Section of Plant Biology: Van Wijk’s research is divided into two main themes: control of organellar protein homeostasis and the role of lipid micro-compartments, named plastoglobules, within chloroplasts to coordinate organelle metabolism.
Giovannoni, Lehmann and Liu have all made the list in previous years. Look through the current list using Clarivate Analytics’ searchable database and read more about the methodology used in creating it here.
