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Domain · Life Sciences · Belgium

Life Sciences research in Belgium

KU Leuven ranks first in Belgium for Life Sciences research in 2022–2025 (#121 worldwide), followed by Ghent University and University of Antwerp.

Belgium's world rank
#20
of 149 countries, 2022–2025
Works, 2022–2025
15k
Top-10% rate
21.8%
Ranked institutions
38

Research strength only: this says nothing about teaching, admissions or cost.

What is the best university for Life Sciences in Belgium?

#InstitutionWorld rankScoreTop-10% rateWorks
1KU LeuvenLeuven #12146.524.6%2,136
2Ghent UniversityGhent #17642.329.4%1,972
3University of AntwerpAntwerp #44631.925.7%708
4Ghent University HospitalGhent #50930.517.7%584
5University of LiègeLiège #61028.420.4%995
6Vrije Universiteit BrusselBrussels #62428.225.8%497
7VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation ResearchGhent #69826.939.2%95
8UCLouvainLouvain-la-Neuve #71126.723.9%586
9Université Libre de BruxellesBrussels #82625.021.5%644
10VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease ResearchLeuven #1,09721.932.0%169
11VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer BiologyLeuven #1,21220.840.9%89
12Rega Institute for Medical ResearchLeuven #1,26620.327.0%120
13Gembloux Agro-Bio TechGembloux #1,57417.935.1%284
14Hasselt UniversityHasselt #1,65017.325.0%190
15Antwerp University HospitalAntwerp #1,78516.522.7%159
16Cliniques Universitaires Saint-LucBrussels #2,16314.318.4%144
17Janssen (Belgium)Beerse #2,42613.016.3%130
18Instituut voor Tropische GeneeskundeAntwerp #2,49012.725.5%86
19VIB-KU Leuven Center for MicrobiologyLeuven #2,72011.829.5%68
20Universitair Ziekenhuis BrusselBrussels #2,74311.722.5%91
21de Duve InstituteBrussels #2,83011.335.8%70
22Vlaams Instituut voor BiotechnologieGhent #2,96810.831.7%99
23Sciensano (Belgium)Brussels #2,99910.730.0%99
24University of MonsMons #3,11910.29.7%597
25VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems BiologyGhent #3,16210.146.0%139
26HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and ArtsGhent #3,2449.824.7%85
27Universitair Ziekenhuis LeuvenLeuven #3,4779.015.8%86
28Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de LiègeLiège #3,7468.214.5%101
29University of NamurNamur #4,2316.817.5%121
30Institut Jules BordetBrussels #4,3026.619.6%61
31Institute of Natural SciencesBrussels #6,1512.71.2%982
32Walloon Agricultural Research CentreGembloux #6,1652.624.7%68
33Nutrition Sciences (Belgium)Ghent #6,5302.09.3%95
34Meise Botanic GardenMeise #6,6861.718.2%99
35Flanders Marine InstituteOstend #7,037115.03.7%63
36Royal Museum for Central AfricaTervuren #7,126101.08.7%95
37European Union of Medical SpecialistsBrussels #7,18891.01.3%109
38UCLouvain Saint-Louis BrusselsBrussels #7,27678.03.1%62

Institutions in Belgium above the floor of 40 fractional works in Life Sciences, ordered by their worldwide rank on research quality, 2022–2025.

Who are the top Life Sciences researchers in Belgium?

Jo Vandesompele, Peter Vandenabeele and Christos Sotiriou rank highest among researchers based in Belgium.

  1. 1Jo Vandesompele#1,646 worldwide overall2k citations · 87 works
  2. 2Peter Vandenabeele#2,034 worldwide overall2k citations · 68 works
  3. 3Christos Sotiriou#5,398 worldwide overall1.4k citations · 86 works
  4. 4Paul Rutgeerts#8,422 worldwide overall1.3k citations · 79 works
  5. 5Martine Piccart#11,395 worldwide overall1.8k citations · 106 works
  6. 6Christine Van Broeckhoven#15,310 worldwide overall1.4k citations · 103 works
  7. 7Peter Carmeliet#24,986 worldwide overall1.7k citations · 160 works
  8. 8Diether Lambrechts#26,619 worldwide overall1.3k citations · 106 works
  9. 9Sebastiaan Engelborghs#27,212 worldwide overall1.1k citations · 70 works
  10. 10Yves Van de Peer#29,247 worldwide overall798 citations · 77 works
  11. 11Marc Van Montagu#37,925 worldwide overall1.5k citations · 203 works
  12. 12Wim Verbeke#40,085 worldwide overall1.1k citations · 85 works
  13. 13Dirk Inzé#53,353 worldwide overall808 citations · 109 works
  14. 14Peter Vandamme#55,493 worldwide overall949 citations · 125 works
  15. 15Jean Swings#64,854 worldwide overall663 citations · 90 works

How Belgium compares with other countries in Life Sciences