Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Nonprofit · La Jolla · United States

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

In research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies stands highest in Life Sciences (#371 of 7,800 worldwide), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (#400 of 3,579 worldwide) and Neuroscience (#262 of 1,168 worldwide), 2022–2025. 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, 2022–2025
#1,242
of 28,054 · #196 all time
Rank in United States
#203
of 4,192
Research works
8.4k
▼ 12% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.1M
127.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
32.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
44%
world 28%

What is Salk Institute for Biological Studies known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Life SciencesDomain #371 of 7,800 35.2%280 #37
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #400 of 3,579 31.2%144 #54
NeuroscienceField #262 of 1,168 35.1%70 #18
Molecular BiologySubfield #543 of 2,175 32.3%96 #35
MedicineField #4,141 of 10,443 29.9%96 #339
Health SciencesDomain #5,604 of 11,982 29.4%100 #421

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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Life Sciences#37 #371
  2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#54 #400
  3. Neuroscience#18 #262
  4. Molecular Biology#35 #543
  5. Medicine#339 #4,141
  6. Health Sciences#421 #5,604
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

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

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 · 69.8 works9.8×
  2. ImmunologySubfield · 25.2 works8.4×
← 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: 1.83× its world share, 38 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 6.17× its world share, 144 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 6.10× its world share, 27 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 9.81× its world share, 70 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.51× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.48× its world share, 3 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.21× its world share, 7 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.15× its world share, 10 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.34× its world share, 7 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.17× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.36× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.14× its world share, 96 worksMedicineNursing: 1.14× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.31× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.95× its world share, 13 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.13× its world share, 7 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.

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

Ranked on the composite score, Wylie Vale, Roger Guillemin and Fred H. Gage lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

  1. 1 Wylie Vale United States · #932 worldwide 2.8k citations · 119 works
  2. 2 Roger Guillemin United States · #1,302 worldwide 1.8k citations · 108 works
  3. 3 Fred H. Gage United States · #1,450 worldwide 2.9k citations · 116 works
  4. 4 Tony Hunter United States · #1,806 worldwide 2.8k citations · 90 works
  5. 5 Jean Rivier United States · #2,086 worldwide 2.2k citations · 98 works
  6. 6 Inder M. Verma United States · #2,947 worldwide 1.9k citations · 82 works
  7. 7 Nicholas Ling United States · #2,989 worldwide 1.5k citations · 91 works
  8. 8 Ronald M. Evans United States · #6,674 worldwide 1.3k citations · 102 works
  9. 9 Terrence J. Sejnowski United States · #7,529 worldwide 1.7k citations · 125 works
  10. 10 Catherine Rivier United States · #8,396 worldwide 1.2k citations · 53 works
All ranked researchers at Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Which keywords describe research at Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Oxidative Stress, Gene Expression, Inflammation, Cancer, 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 2022–2025 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 Stress45▲ 6.2×39 topics
  2. Inflammation35▲ 3.8×54 topics
  3. Gene Expression35▲ 13×18 topics
  4. Cancer30▲ 5.2×40 topics
  5. Metabolism25▲ 11×19 topics
  6. Aging23▲ 9.9×11 topics
  7. Tumor Microenvironment17▲ 8.6×8 topics
  8. Innate Immunity15▲ 11×10 topics
  9. Neurological Disorders14▲ 5.7×14 topics
  10. Mitochondrial Dysfunction14▲ 11×10 topics
  11. Neuroinflammation14▲ 11×6 topics
  12. Cancer Therapy13▲ 5.4×15 topics
  13. Metabolic Regulation13▲ 18×5 topics
  14. Neurodegeneration13▲ 9.8×8 topics
  15. Brain Development12▲ 16×5 topics
  16. Cell Death12▲ 12×6 topics
  17. Epigenetic Regulation12▲ 13×6 topics
  18. Retinal Ganglion Cells12▲ 24×3 topics
  19. Health Effects11▲ 4.3×5 topics
  20. Immunity11▲ 6.4×8 topics
  21. Insulin Signaling11▲ 30×4 topics
  22. Reactive Oxygen Species11▲ 6.3×11 topics
  23. Circadian Clock11▲ 70×1 topic
  24. Melatonin11▲ 70×1 topic
  25. Transcription Factors10▲ 20×5 topics
  26. Synchronization10▲ 19×4 topics
  27. Weight Loss10▲ 14×2 topics
  28. Neuronal Oscillations10▲ 29×2 topics
  29. Genetic Regulation9▲ 13×4 topics
  30. RNA-Seq9▲ 20×2 topics
  31. Working Memory9▲ 24×2 topics
  32. Cortical Networks9▲ 37×1 topic
  33. Cytokines9▲ 7.6×7 topics
  34. Gamma Rhythms9▲ 37×1 topic
  35. Cancer Immunotherapy9▲ 14×3 topics
  36. Mitochondria9▲ 15×5 topics
  37. Mitochondrial Function9▲ 21×5 topics
  38. Microglia8▲ 17×2 topics
  39. Ischemic Stroke8▲ 12×2 topics
  40. Transcriptional Regulation8▲ 11×9 topics

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

By volume in 2022–2025: Circadian rhythm and melatonin, Neural dynamics and brain function, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms and Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics.

Circadian rhythm and mel…11Circadian rhythm and melatonin: 11 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…9Neural dynamics and brain function: 9 fractional worksNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms: 7 fractional worksSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics: 7 fractional worksGenetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms: 7 fractional worksPlant Molecular Biology Research: 7 fractional worksMitochondrial Function and Pathology: 6 fractional worksCancer Immunotherapy and…6Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers: 6 fractional worksDietary Effects on Health: 6 fractional worksRNA modifications and cancer: 6 fractional works
Endocrine and Autonomic SystemsCognitive NeuroscienceNeurologyMolecular Biology4 others

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

  1. 1 Circadian rhythm and melatonin Endocrine and Autonomic Systems 11 works
  2. 2 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 9 works
  3. 3 Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Neurology 7 works
  4. 4 Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics Molecular Biology 7 works
  5. 5 Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms Aging 7 works
  6. 6 Plant Molecular Biology Research Plant Science 7 works
  7. 7 Mitochondrial Function and Pathology Molecular Biology 6 works
  8. 8 Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers Oncology 6 works
  9. 9 Dietary Effects on Health Physiology 6 works
  10. 10 RNA modifications and cancer Molecular Biology 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

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

Output in 2018–2022 was 12% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in La Jolla

All research institutions in La Jolla

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.