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Nonprofit · La Jolla · United States

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

In research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies stands highest in Life Sciences (#168 of 6,403 worldwide), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (#204 of 2,964 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#835 of 9,902 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Neuroscience and Immunology (Neuroscience is 9.8× its share of world research).

salk.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#922
of 22,385 · #476 all time
Rank in United States
#205
of 3,332
Research works
8.4k
▼ 3% vs 2018-21
Citations
1.1M
127.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.23×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
44%
world 40%
International
17%
world 18%
Salk Institute for Biological Studies

What is Salk Institute for Biological Studies 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 #168 of 6,403 19.9%280 #108
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #204 of 2,964 20.6%144 #132
Health SciencesDomain #835 of 9,902 20.9%100 #347
Molecular BiologySubfield #176 of 1,880 20.2%96 #100
MedicineField #842 of 8,541 20.9%96 #360
NeuroscienceField #115 of 1,092 17.2%70 #48

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Salk Institute for Biological Studies 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#108 #168
  2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#132 #204
  3. Health Sciences#347 #835
  4. Molecular Biology#100 #176
  5. Medicine#360 #842
  6. Neuroscience#48 #115
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 Salk Institute for Biological Studies work in?

In 2022-now, 64% of research at Salk Institute for Biological Studies is in Life Sciences, 23% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (33%), Medicine (22%), Neuroscience (16%). It does 4.7× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Life Sciences: 322 fractional works · 63.8% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 165 fractional works · 32.8% of its workMolecular Biology: 110 fractional works · 21.8% of its workGenetics: 12 fractional works · 2.4% of its workCancer Research: 11 fractional works · 2.3% of its workCell Biology: 10 fractional works · 2.1% of its workAging: 7 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBiophysics: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBiochemistry: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiotechnology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workClinical Biochemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workStructural Biology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 80 fractional works · 16.0% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 27 fractional works · 5.4% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 20 fractional works · 3.9% of its workEndocrine and Autonomic Systems: 13 fractional works · 2.6% of its workNeurology: 11 fractional works · 2.2% of its workDevelopmental Neuroscience: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSensory Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiological Psychiatry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBehavioral Neuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 45 fractional works · 9.0% of its workPlant Science: 36 fractional works · 7.2% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAquatic Science: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 30 fractional works · 5.9% of its workImmunology: 27 fractional works · 5.4% of its workVirology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 115 fractional works · 22.8% of its workMedicine: 109 fractional works · 21.7% of its workPhysiology: 28 fractional works · 5.5% of its workOncology: 21 fractional works · 4.2% of its workEpidemiology: 8 fractional works · 1.5% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSurgery: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workNeurology: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPharmacology: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInfectious Diseases: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGenetics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHematology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRheumatology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workNursing: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workVeterinary: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 40 fractional works · 7.9% of its workEngineering: 11 fractional works · 2.2% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputer Science: 8 fractional works · 1.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 8 fractional works · 1.5% of its workEcology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSpectroscopy: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 28 fractional works · 5.5% of its workPsychology: 14 fractional works · 2.8% of its workSocial Psychology: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workClinical Psychology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 10 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEducation: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSociology and Political Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workArts and Humanities: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKSalk Institutefor Biological…504fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences64%Physical Sciences8%Health Sciences23%Social Sciences5%

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. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology16532.8%
    2. Neuroscience8016.0%
    3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences459.0%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology305.9%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics10.2%
    1. Medicine10921.7%
    2. Nursing30.6%
    3. Health Professions10.3%
    4. Veterinary10.2%
    1. Engineering112.2%
    2. Computer Science81.6%
    3. Environmental Science81.5%
    4. Physics and Astronomy40.9%
    5. Chemistry40.8%
    6. Materials Science30.6%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences10.3%
    8. Mathematics00.1%
    9. Energy00.1%
    1. Psychology142.8%
    2. Social Sciences101.9%
    3. Arts and Humanities20.3%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance10.2%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting10.2%
    6. Decision Sciences10.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Salk Institute for Biological Studies specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Neuroscience takes 9.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. NeuroscienceField · 80.5 works9.8×
  2. ImmunologySubfield · 27.5 works7.9×
← 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: 1.89× its world share, 45 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 6.14× its world share, 165 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 5.90× its world share, 30 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 9.83× its world share, 80 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.45× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.49× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.20× its world share, 8 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.18× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.14× its world share, 11 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.31× its world share, 8 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.17× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.38× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.13× its world share, 110 worksMedicineNursing: 1.32× its world share, 3 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.13× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.93× its world share, 14 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.15× its world share, 10 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 9.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 24 fields, with their numbers
  1. Neuroscience9.83×80 works
  2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.14×165 works
  3. Immunology and Microbiology5.90×30 works
  4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.89×45 works
  5. Nursing1.32×3 works
  6. Medicine1.13×110 works
  7. Veterinary1.13×1 works
  8. Psychology0.93×14 works
  9. Chemistry0.49×4 works
  10. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.45×1 works
  11. Physics and Astronomy0.38×4 works
  12. Environmental Science0.31×8 works
  13. Computer Science0.20×8 works
  14. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.18×2 works
  15. Materials Science0.17×3 works
  16. Social Sciences0.15×10 works
  17. Engineering0.14×11 works
  18. Decision Sciences0.11×0 works
  19. Health Professions0.10×1 works
  20. Arts and Humanities0.10×2 works
  21. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.10×1 works
  22. Energy0.08×0 works
  23. Mathematics0.07×0 works
  24. Business, Management and Accounting0.05×1 works

Who are the top researchers at Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

Ranked on the quality score, Joseph R. Ecker, Ronald M. Evans and Joseph R. Nery lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

  1. 1 Joseph R. Ecker United States · #23 worldwide 134k citations · 537 works
  2. 2 Ronald M. Evans United States · #655 worldwide 192k citations · 927 works
  3. 3 Joseph R. Nery United States · #876 worldwide 32k citations · 148 works
  4. 4 Fred H. Gage United States · #884 worldwide 201k citations · 1,064 works
  5. 5 Tony R. Hunter United States · #1,500 worldwide 136k citations · 636 works
  6. 6 Joanne Chory United States · #2,685 worldwide 73k citations · 387 works
  7. 7 Marc Montminy United States · #4,553 worldwide 49k citations · 206 works
  8. 8 Michael Downes United States · #5,811 worldwide 40k citations · 323 works
  9. 9 Reuben J. Shaw United States · #5,959 worldwide 51k citations · 284 works
  10. 10 Ruth T. Yu United States · #7,757 worldwide 27k citations · 160 works
All ranked researchers at Salk Institute for Biological Studies

What are the most cited papers from Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

The most cited paper from Salk Institute for Biological Studies is "An Information-Maximization Approach to Blind Separation and Blind Deconvolution" (Anthony J. Bell, Terrence J. Sejnowski, 1995), with 9,265 citations. Next come "The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Structure of Cell Membranes" (9,137) and "The Steroid and Thyroid Hormone Receptor Superfamily" (7,575).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 An Information-Maximization Approach to Blind Separation and Blind Deconvolution Anthony J. Bell, Terrence J. Sejnowski · Neural Computation Nov 1995 9,265
2 The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Structure of Cell Membranes Sherwin J. Singer, Garth L. Nicolson · Science 18 Feb 1972 9,137
3 The Steroid and Thyroid Hormone Receptor Superfamily Ronald M. Evans · Science Open access 13 May 1988 7,575
4 Integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes Anshul Kundaje et al. · Nature Open access 17 Feb 2015 7,245
5 Neurogenesis in the adult human hippocampus Peter S. Eriksson, Ekaterina Perfilieva, Thomas Björk‐Eriksson et al. · Nature Medicine Nov 1998 6,370
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Oxidative Stress, Gene Expression, Cancer, Inflammation, Metabolism, Aging, Tumor Microenvironment and Innate Immunity.

▲ 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. Oxidative Stress50▲ 6.0×41 topics
  2. Gene Expression40▲ 13×18 topics
  3. Inflammation40▲ 3.7×55 topics
  4. Cancer36▲ 5.3×41 topics
  5. Metabolism27▲ 10×19 topics
  6. Aging25▲ 9.2×12 topics
  7. Tumor Microenvironment19▲ 8.4×8 topics
  8. Innate Immunity16▲ 10×10 topics
  9. Neurological Disorders16▲ 5.7×15 topics
  10. Neuroinflammation15▲ 11×6 topics
  11. Mitochondrial Dysfunction15▲ 10×10 topics
  12. Metabolic Regulation15▲ 18×5 topics
  13. Cancer Therapy15▲ 5.1×15 topics
  14. Neurodegeneration14▲ 9.4×8 topics
  15. Cell Death14▲ 12×6 topics
  16. Brain Development14▲ 15×5 topics
  17. Epigenetic Regulation14▲ 13×6 topics
  18. Immunity13▲ 6.5×8 topics
  19. Transcription Factors13▲ 20×5 topics
  20. Insulin Signaling13▲ 29×4 topics
  21. Reactive Oxygen Species12▲ 6.0×11 topics
  22. Retinal Ganglion Cells12▲ 23×3 topics
  23. Health Effects12▲ 4.0×5 topics
  24. Circadian Clock12▲ 65×1 topic
  25. Melatonin12▲ 65×1 topic
  26. RNA-Seq11▲ 19×2 topics
  27. Synchronization11▲ 18×4 topics
  28. Neuronal Oscillations11▲ 29×2 topics
  29. Weight Loss11▲ 13×2 topics
  30. Genetic Regulation11▲ 13×5 topics
  31. Cortical Networks10▲ 37×1 topic
  32. Gamma Rhythms10▲ 37×1 topic
  33. Working Memory10▲ 23×2 topics
  34. Cancer Immunotherapy10▲ 13×3 topics
  35. Cytokines10▲ 6.9×7 topics
  36. Mitochondria10▲ 14×5 topics
  37. Mitochondrial Function9▲ 19×5 topics
  38. Microglia9▲ 16×2 topics
  39. Data Integration9▲ 10×2 topics
  40. Single-Cell9▲ 34×1 topic

Which research topics does Salk Institute for Biological Studies publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Circadian rhythm and melatonin, Neural dynamics and brain function, Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics and Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms.

Circadian rhythm and mel…12Circadian rhythm and melatonin: 12 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…10Neural dynamics and brain function: 10 fractional worksSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics: 9 fractional worksNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms: 8 fractional worksPlant Molecular Biology Research: 8 fractional worksGenetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms: 7 fractional worksMitochondrial Function and Pathology: 7 fractional worksCancer Immunotherapy and…7Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers: 7 fractional worksEpigenetics and DNA Methylation: 6 fractional worksDietary Effects on Health: 6 fractional works
Endocrine and Autonomic SystemsCognitive NeuroscienceMolecular BiologyNeurology4 others

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

  1. 1 Circadian rhythm and melatonin Endocrine and Autonomic Systems 12 works
  2. 2 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 10 works
  3. 3 Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics Molecular Biology 9 works
  4. 4 Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Neurology 8 works
  5. 5 Plant Molecular Biology Research Plant Science 8 works
  6. 6 Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms Aging 7 works
  7. 7 Mitochondrial Function and Pathology Molecular Biology 7 works
  8. 8 Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers Oncology 7 works
  9. 9 Epigenetics and DNA Methylation Molecular Biology 6 works
  10. 10 Dietary Effects on Health Physiology 6 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 available43.6%not open56.4%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors16.6%domestic only83.4%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Salk Institute for Biological Studies's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 3% lower 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 Salk Institute for Biological Studies as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0019% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Salk Institute for Biological Studies0.0020% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Salk Institute for Biological Studies 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%Salk Institute for Biological Studies14.8% 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 34.3% in 1994.

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

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Questions people ask

What does the Salk Institute research?

In research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies stands highest in Life Sciences (#168 of 6,403 worldwide), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (#204 of 2,964 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#835 of 9,902 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Neuroscience and Immunology (Neuroscience is 9.8× its share of world research).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

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