Professor Andrew Hattersley was awarded a CBE for revolutionising global treatment of diabetes.

Two Exeter academics placed in top cited researchers of all time

Two Exeter academics have been placed alongside Freud, Einstein and Darwin in a list which ranks citations across global disciplines.

Professor Andrew Hattersley placed 1,003rd with 84,565 citations, while Professor Clive Ballard placed 2,045th with 48,651.

Ranking is determined by both the quantitative impact of a publication (known as an h-index) and then by total number of citations – instances when one paper is referenced by another academic paper.

Data for the 2018 edition was collected in the first week of October 2018 from public profiles in the Google Scholar Citations database.

Professor Andrew Hattersley was awarded a CBE earlier this year for revolutionising global diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.

In the last year, he has led research which found that sulphonylurea tablets controlled blood sugar in the long term more effectively than insulin in very young children. His research also combatted the misconception that adults are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children, finding that over 40% of T1 cases occur after the age of 30.

Professor Clive Ballard, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean, specialises in dementia research from care and prevention to the use of antipsychotic medications. His research has made a significant contribution to the 50% reduction in the use of these agents nationally and internationally.

Professor Clive Ballard said: “Instances such as these are always exciting, and promotes Exeter’s world-leading research.”

The list, which includes authors both alive and deceased, places neurologist Sigmund Freud and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein at 3rd and 50th respectively, and naturalist Charles Darwin at 2,482nd.

The list was funded by CSIC Intramural and can be viewed in full here.

Date: 5 November 2018