Six UMass Amherst Scholars Named to Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers List

Six UMass Amherst researchers representing a range of science disciplines within four academic colleges have been recognized as among the world's highly cited researchers in 2025 by Clarivate Plc, a global analytics and data provider.

The list, released on Nov. 12, annually recognizes researchers whose contributions have demonstrated broad and significant influence in their fields. Analysts at the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at Clarivate have recognized 6,868 individuals with 7,131 as this year's Highly Cited Researchers, who rank in the top 1% by citations for their fields and publication year in the Web of Science Core Collection over the past 11 years. The researchers recognized this year represent more than 1,300 institutions in 60 countries and regions and span a wide range of research fields in the sciences and social sciences.

The UMass Amherst researchers named in this year's list include:

• Alice Y. Cheung, Distinguished Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, College of Natural Sciences
• Leontine Alkema, professor of biostatistics and associate chair in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences
• Muzaffer "Muzzo" Uysal, Carney Family Endowed Professor of hospitality and tourism management, Isenberg School of Management
• Thomas P. Russell, Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor of polymer science and engineering, College of Natural Sciences
• Katherine Whitaker, associate professor of astronomy, College of Natural Sciences
• Qiangfei Xia, Dev and Linda Gupta Professor of electrical and computer engineering, Riccio College of Engineering

The U.S. ranks highest for the most highly cited researchers with 2,670 awards, followed by China Mainland with 1,406 awards. The United Kingdom and Germany placed in third and fourth, respectively.

Clarivate notes that its evaluation and selection process draws on data from the Web of Science Core Collection database, and uses quantitative metrics and qualitative analysis to identify individuals whose work has had a genuine, global influence on their fields. In 2025, the program added additional layers of scrutiny, ensuring that the list meets the needs of the community by honoring individual achievement for broad and significant influence while reinforcing the values that underpin meaningful and responsible research.

The full Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, analysis and evaluation and selection policy are available here.