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Research facility · Norwich · United Kingdom

Sainsbury Laboratory

In research, Sainsbury Laboratory stands highest in Life Sciences (#163 of 6,403 worldwide), Plant Science (#78 of 1,317 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#300 of 3,157 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Plant Science (Plant Science is 17.2× its share of world research).

tsl.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#1,582
of 22,385 · #759 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#100
of 862
Research works
1.2k
▲ 16% vs 2018-21
Citations
111k
93.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.6%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.31×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
61%
world 40%
International
37%
world 18%
Sainsbury Laboratory

What is Sainsbury Laboratory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Life SciencesDomain #163 of 6,403 21.6%136 #109
Plant ScienceSubfield #78 of 1,317 23.5%64 #21
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #300 of 3,157 23.5%72 #100

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Sainsbury Laboratory sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Life Sciences#109 #163
  2. Plant Science#21 #78
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#100 #300
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does Sainsbury Laboratory work in?

In 2022-now, 66% of research at Sainsbury Laboratory is in Life Sciences, 15% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Agricultural and Biological Sciences (34%), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (23%), Neuroscience (8%). It does 4.7× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Life Sciences: 175 fractional works · 66.1% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 91 fractional works · 34.2% of its workPlant Science: 79 fractional works · 29.9% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 5 fractional works · 2.0% of its workFood Science: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workInsect Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workForestry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 62 fractional works · 23.2% of its workMolecular Biology: 37 fractional works · 13.9% of its workCell Biology: 8 fractional works · 3.1% of its workBiotechnology: 5 fractional works · 2.0% of its workGenetics: 5 fractional works · 1.9% of its workBiophysics: 3 fractional works · 1.2% of its workStructural Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 21 fractional works · 7.8% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 13 fractional works · 5.0% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 5 fractional works · 1.7% of its workEndocrine and Autonomic Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDevelopmental Neuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workImmunology: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 41 fractional works · 15.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 13 fractional works · 5.0% of its workSociology and Political Science: 4 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCultural Studies: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAnthropology: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workTransportation: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workUrban Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDemography: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 11 fractional works · 4.0% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 8 fractional works · 3.0% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 9 fractional works · 3.5% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 6 fractional works · 2.3% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workArcheology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workConservation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 6 fractional works · 2.2% of its workSocial Psychology: 4 fractional works · 1.3% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysical Sciences: 34 fractional works · 12.7% of its workEngineering: 16 fractional works · 5.9% of its workComputational Mechanics: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workAerospace Engineering: 4 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMechanical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Science: 9 fractional works · 3.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workInformation Systems: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Science: 4 fractional works · 1.6% of its workEcology: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 16 fractional works · 5.9% of its workMedicine: 13 fractional works · 4.9% of its workReproductive Medicine: 4 fractional works · 1.6% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Informatics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMedical Terminology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKSainsburyLaboratory265fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences66%Physical Sciences13%Health Sciences6%Social Sciences15%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 24 fields, with their numbers
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences9134.2%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6223.2%
    3. Neuroscience217.8%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology20.9%
    1. Social Sciences135.0%
    2. Decision Sciences114.0%
    3. Arts and Humanities93.5%
    4. Psychology62.2%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting20.7%
    6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance00.0%
    1. Engineering165.9%
    2. Computer Science93.4%
    3. Environmental Science41.6%
    4. Earth and Planetary Sciences10.5%
    5. Physics and Astronomy10.5%
    6. Materials Science10.3%
    7. Energy00.2%
    8. Mathematics00.2%
    9. Chemistry00.1%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.0%
    1. Medicine134.9%
    2. Health Professions20.8%
    3. Veterinary00.1%
    4. Nursing00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Sainsbury Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Plant Science takes 17.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Plant ScienceSubfield · 79.4 works17×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 7.20× its world share, 91 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 4.35× its world share, 62 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.89× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 4.80× its world share, 21 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.43× its world share, 9 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.31× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.20× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.40× its world share, 16 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.33× its world share, 4 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.22× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.29× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.26× its world share, 13 worksMedicineNursing: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.90× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.21× its world share, 9 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.21× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 4.13× its world share, 11 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 0.71× its world share, 6 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.39× its world share, 13 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 7.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences7.20×91 works
  2. Neuroscience4.80×21 works
  3. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.35×62 works
  4. Decision Sciences4.13×11 works
  5. Arts and Humanities1.21×9 works
  6. Veterinary0.90×0 works
  7. Immunology and Microbiology0.89×2 works
  8. Psychology0.71×6 works
  9. Computer Science0.43×9 works
  10. Engineering0.40×16 works
  11. Social Sciences0.39×13 works
  12. Environmental Science0.33×4 works
  13. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.31×1 works
  14. Health Professions0.29×2 works
  15. Medicine0.26×13 works
  16. Nursing0.25×0 works
  17. Physics and Astronomy0.22×1 works
  18. Business, Management and Accounting0.21×2 works
  19. Energy0.20×0 works
  20. Mathematics0.15×0 works
  21. Chemical Engineering0.12×0 works
  22. Materials Science0.08×1 works
  23. Chemistry0.05×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Sainsbury Laboratory?

Ranked on the quality score, Cyril Zipfel, Sophien Kamoun and Jonathan D. G. Jones lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Sainsbury Laboratory.

  1. 1 Cyril Zipfel United Kingdom · #1,081 worldwide 40k citations · 332 works
  2. 2 Sophien Kamoun United Kingdom · #3,774 worldwide 57k citations · 766 works
  3. 3 Jonathan D. G. Jones United Kingdom · #4,451 worldwide 109k citations · 643 works
  4. 4 David C. Baulcombe United Kingdom · #5,540 worldwide 53k citations · 330 works
  5. 5 Silke Robatzek United Kingdom · #6,473 worldwide 22k citations · 150 works
  6. 6 Frank L.H. Menke United Kingdom · #14,182 worldwide 8k citations · 103 works
  7. 7 Joe Win United Kingdom · #25,888 worldwide 15k citations · 234 works
  8. 8 Chih‐Hang Wu United Kingdom · #26,796 worldwide 3.6k citations · 90 works
  9. 9 Pingtao Ding United Kingdom · #32,847 worldwide 7.8k citations · 68 works
  10. 10 Jiorgos Kourelis United Kingdom · #43,271 worldwide 3.2k citations · 102 works
All ranked researchers at Sainsbury Laboratory

What are the most cited papers from Sainsbury Laboratory?

The most cited paper from Sainsbury Laboratory is "The plant immune system" (Jonathan D. G. Jones, Jeffery L. Dangl, 2006), with 13,434 citations. Next come "Plant pathogens and integrated defence responses to infection" (3,991) and "Shifting the limits in wheat research and breeding using a fully annotated reference genome" (3,439).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 The plant immune system Jonathan D. G. Jones, Jeffery L. Dangl · Nature Open access Nov 2006 13,434
2 Plant pathogens and integrated defence responses to infection Jeffery L. Dangl, Jonathan D. G. Jones · Nature 14 Jun 2001 3,991
3 Shifting the limits in wheat research and breeding using a fully annotated reference genome R. Appels et al. · Science Open access201 authors 17 Aug 2018 3,439
4 A Species of Small Antisense RNA in Posttranscriptional Gene Silencing in Plants Andrew John Hamilton, David C. Baulcombe · Science 29 Oct 1999 3,066
5 Role of plant hormones in plant defence responses Rajendra P. Bari, Jonathan D. G. Jones · Plant Molecular Biology 15 Dec 2008 2,681
All 58 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Sainsbury Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Gene Expression, Plant Immunity, Rhizosphere Interactions, Pattern Recognition Receptors, Microbiome, Microbial Pathogens, Systemic Acquired Resistance and Genomics.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Gene Expression22▲ 13×11 topics
  2. Plant Immunity21▲ 83×2 topics
  3. Rhizosphere Interactions18▲ 76×2 topics
  4. Pattern Recognition Receptors17▲ 50×3 topics
  5. Microbiome17▲ 46×2 topics
  6. Microbial Pathogens17▲ 108×1 topic
  7. Systemic Acquired Resistance17▲ 108×1 topic
  8. Genomics14▲ 17×9 topics
  9. Transcription Factors13▲ 38×4 topics
  10. Development12▲ 13×3 topics
  11. Epigenetic Regulation12▲ 21×4 topics
  12. Host Recognition12▲ 72×2 topics
  13. Phylogenetic Analysis12▲ 14×10 topics
  14. MicroRNA11▲ 35×1 topic
  15. Plant11▲ 87×1 topic
  16. Peer Review11▲ 117×2 topics
  17. Scholarly Communication11▲ 137×2 topics
  18. Mycorrhizal Fungi8▲ 45×2 topics
  19. Fungal Pathogens8▲ 23×5 topics
  20. Signal Transduction8▲ 19×5 topics
  21. Genome Analysis7▲ 28×4 topics
  22. Host Specificity7▲ 24×2 topics
  23. Nitrogen Fixation7▲ 36×3 topics
  24. Health Research6▲ 22×2 topics
  25. Symbiosis6▲ 28×3 topics
  26. Plant Hormones6▲ 39×2 topics
  27. Parasitic Plants6▲ 75×1 topic
  28. Publication6▲ 185×1 topic
  29. Scientific Writing6▲ 185×1 topic
  30. Strigolactones6▲ 75×1 topic
  31. Legumes6▲ 69×1 topic
  32. Rhizobium6▲ 69×1 topic
  33. Large-Eddy Simulation6▲ 12×5 topics
  34. Research Integrity6▲ 65×2 topics
  35. Plant Development6▲ 32×3 topics
  36. Pollen Tube Growth5▲ 87×1 topic
  37. Self-Incompatibility5▲ 87×1 topic
  38. Type III Secretion System5▲ 36×2 topics
  39. Open Access5▲ 20×2 topics
  40. Prefrontal Cortex5▲ 23×3 topics

Which research topics does Sainsbury Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity, Plant Molecular Biology Research, Academic Writing and Publishing and Plant Parasitism and Resistance.

Plant-Microbe Interactio…17Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity: 17 fractional worksPlant Molecular Biology Research: 11 fractional worksAcademic Writing and Publishing: 6 fractional worksPlant Parasitism and Resistance: 6 fractional worksLegume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis: 6 fractional worksPlant Reproductive Biology: 5 fractional worksAcademic Publishing and …5Academic Publishing and Open Access: 5 fractional worksTransgenic Plants and Applications: 5 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brain function: 4 fractional worksPlant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies: 4 fractional works
Plant ScienceHistory and Philosophy of ScienceMolecular BiologyInformation Systems and Management2 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity Plant Science 17 works
  2. 2 Plant Molecular Biology Research Plant Science 11 works
  3. 3 Academic Writing and Publishing History and Philosophy of Science 6 works
  4. 4 Plant Parasitism and Resistance Plant Science 6 works
  5. 5 Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis Plant Science 6 works
  6. 6 Plant Reproductive Biology Molecular Biology 5 works
  7. 7 Academic Publishing and Open Access Information Systems and Management 5 works
  8. 8 Transgenic Plants and Applications Biotechnology 5 works
  9. 9 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 4 works
  10. 10 Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies Plant Science 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available61.1%not open38.9%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors37.4%domestic only62.6%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Sainsbury Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 16% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Sainsbury Laboratory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00070% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%0.0030%Sainsbury Laboratory0.00081% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Sainsbury Laboratory over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting20%40%60%Sainsbury Laboratory18.8% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 44.0% in 2009.

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Sainsbury Laboratory on Science Explorer

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Its overall standing, then the domains, fields and subfields where Sainsbury Laboratory is in the world's top ten or its top 1%. Each has an image of its own.

Overall

Domains

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