Scientists are noted for publishing work that is most frequently cited by their colleagues
Five Tufts researchers have been named to Thomson Reuter’s 2014 list of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. The list [pdf] cites the top thinkers in 21 fields of study and is based on how frequently their publications were cited by other scientists between 2002 and 2013. Thomson Reuter is a multinational media and information company based in New York City.
The Tufts researchers are Jeffrey Blumberg, Bess Dawson-Hughes, David Kaplan, Andrew Levey and Dariush Mozaffarian. “Everyone acknowledged in this book,” the report says, “is a person of influence in the sciences and social sciences. They are the people who are on the cutting edge of their fields. They are performing and publishing work that their peers recognize as vital to the advancement of their science. These researchers are, undoubtedly, among the most influential scientific minds of our time.”
Jeffrey Blumberg is a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts. His research has focused on how antioxidant nutrients promote health and prevent disease during the aging process. He has also done work to determine what the dietary requirements for these nutrients should be. He has published more than 300 scientific articles and serves on the editorial boards of several journals.
Bess Dawson-Hughes, M75, an endocrinologist, is director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the HNRCA. Her areas of expertise are metabolic bone disease, calcium and vitamin D nutrition and the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. She has been on the board of trustees of the National Osteoporosis Foundation since 1995, serving as president from 2002 to 2005. She has been on the councils of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the American Society of Clinical Nutrition. She has published more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, abstracts and reviews. Some of her current research is directed at examining ways in which calcium, vitamin D, protein and other nutrients influence age-related loss of bone mass and risk of fractures.
David Kaplan is the Stern Family Professor of Engineering and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and holds appointments at several other Tufts schools and departments. His research focuses on biopolymer engineering with an emphasis on biomaterial engineering and regenerative medicine. He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers and edited eight books. He directs the Tissue Engineering Resource Center, a collaborative effort between Tufts and Columbia University. He has received a number of awards for teaching, is an elected fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and received the Columbus Discovery Medal and the Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award.
Andrew Levey is a professor of medicine and chief of the William B. Schwartz Division of Nephrology at Tufts Medical Center. He is involved with research groups at Tufts and around the world studying ways to gauge kidney function and better understand the burden of chronic kidney disease. He has been honored by the National Kidney Foundation for his lifetime of dedication to the treatment of kidney diseases. In 2013 he was named the recipient of the American Society of Nephrology’s Belding H. Scribner Award, presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions that have had a direct impact on the care of patients with kidney disease.
Dariush Mozaffarian is dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. A cardiologist and epidemiologist, he has done research that has demonstrated the connections between lifestyle and heart disease. He has written or co-written more than 200 scientific publications on the diet and lifestyle factors that contribute to diabetes and cognitive decline as well as heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of death worldwide. Throughout his career, Mozaffarian has used scientific evidence to inform nutrition policy. He notes that providing basic nutrition advice to people and relying on personal responsibility has not been enough to improve public health.
