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Institution · Cape Town · South Africa

South African Medical Research Council

In research, South African Medical Research Council stands highest in Health Sciences (#1,523 of 11,982 worldwide), Medicine (#1,348 of 10,443 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#1,275 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Infectious Diseases, Health and General Health Professions — Infectious Diseases is 12.6× its share of world research.

mrc.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,375
of 28,054 · #3,273 all time
Rank in South Africa
#13
of 87
Research works
4.8k
▲ 70% vs 2013–17
Citations
160k
33.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
26.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
54%
world 28%

What is South African Medical Research Council 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
Health SciencesDomain #1,523 of 11,982 25.6%572 #1367
MedicineField #1,348 of 10,443 24.9%460 #1501
Life SciencesDomain #1,275 of 7,800 24.6%156 #1896
Social SciencesDomain #2,385 of 10,521 31.0%204 #2027
Infectious DiseasesSubfield #106 of 345 24.9%86 #180
General Health ProfessionsSubfield #394 of 916 30.8%71 #272
EpidemiologySubfield #421 of 976 25.7%72 #537
PsychologyField #986 of 2,181 34.1%64 #1318
Social SciencesField #3,113 of 6,365 30.9%93 #1904
Health ProfessionsField #1,071 of 1,928 31.0%88 #777

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where South African Medical Research Council 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. Health Sciences#1,367 #1,523
  2. Medicine#1,501 #1,348
  3. Life Sciences#1,896 #1,275
  4. Social Sciences#2,027 #2,385
  5. Infectious Diseases#180 #106
  6. General Health Professions#272 #394
  7. Epidemiology#537 #421
  8. Psychology#1,318 #986
  9. Social Sciences#1,904 #3,113
  10. Health Professions#777 #1,071
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 South African Medical Research Council specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Infectious Diseases takes 12.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Infectious DiseasesSubfield · 86.1 works13×
  2. HealthSubfield · 26.8 works9.0×
  3. General Health ProfessionsSubfield · 70.7 works5.1×
  4. EpidemiologySubfield · 72.0 works5.1×
← 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: 0.44× its world share, 21 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.49× its world share, 80 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 3.50× its world share, 35 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.95× its world share, 15 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.50× its world share, 5 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.56× its world share, 9 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.13× its world share, 10 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.08× its world share, 12 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.54× its world share, 27 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.08× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.53× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.35× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 3.35× its world share, 88 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 2.38× its world share, 460 worksMedicineNursing: 4.11× its world share, 20 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.71× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.12× its world share, 3 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.40× its world share, 13 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.52× its world share, 5 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.19× its world share, 26 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.10× its world share, 64 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.73× its world share, 93 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Nursing, 4.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at South African Medical Research Council?

Ranked on the composite score, André Pascal Kengne, Charles Shey Wiysonge and Charles Parry lead among researchers whose main affiliation is South African Medical Research Council.

  1. 1 André Pascal Kengne South Africa · #120 worldwide 4.5k citations · 130 works
  2. 2 Charles Shey Wiysonge South Africa · #1,242 worldwide 4.2k citations · 85 works
  3. 3 Charles Parry South Africa · #6,521 worldwide 3.4k citations · 54 works
  4. 4 Simon Lewin South Africa · #7,622 worldwide 5.1k citations · 51 works
  5. 5 Walter F. O. Marasas South Africa · #40,039 worldwide 536 citations · 33 works
  6. 6 Mark Colvin South Africa · #40,501 worldwide 219 citations · 39 works
  7. 7 Rachel Jewkes South Africa · #45,621 worldwide 483 citations · 54 works
  8. 8 I. F. H. Purchase South Africa · #46,867 worldwide 308 citations · 41 works
  9. 9 Richard Matzopoulos South Africa · #66,830 worldwide 1.9k citations · 25 works
  10. 10 Derek Yach South Africa · #71,778 worldwide 184 citations · 47 works
All ranked researchers at South African Medical Research Council

Which keywords describe research at South African Medical Research Council?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Antiretroviral Therapy, Vaccine, Immune Response, Public Health, Mental Health, Risk Factors and Treatment.

▲ 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. Epidemiology159▲ 4.0×99 topics
  2. Public Health59▲ 4.0×47 topics
  3. Mental Health58▲ 3.9×30 topics
  4. Antiretroviral Therapy56▲ 34×6 topics
  5. Vaccine56▲ 14×11 topics
  6. Risk Factors51▲ 4.7×30 topics
  7. Immune Response50▲ 8.8×19 topics
  8. Treatment50▲ 4.1×34 topics
  9. Cardiovascular Disease48▲ 4.3×34 topics
  10. Inflammation46▲ 2.2×70 topics
  11. Diagnosis46▲ 4.9×27 topics
  12. Metabolic Syndrome37▲ 4.6×17 topics
  13. Drug Resistance37▲ 13×8 topics
  14. Depression32▲ 3.6×20 topics
  15. Global Burden32▲ 5.8×12 topics
  16. Pandemic31▲ 2.9×9 topics
  17. Prevalence30▲ 7.4×12 topics
  18. Obesity30▲ 3.9×22 topics
  19. HIV Infection29▲ 28×4 topics
  20. Mortality Rates29▲ 31×2 topics
  21. Genetic Diversity28▲ 6.3×7 topics
  22. Viral Load28▲ 35×2 topics
  23. HIV Transmission27▲ 37×2 topics
  24. Insulin Resistance27▲ 5.8×10 topics
  25. Host-Pathogen Interaction26▲ 35×2 topics
  26. Mycobacterium tuberculosis26▲ 47×1 topic
  27. Tuberculosis26▲ 50×1 topic
  28. Child Development25▲ 6.0×7 topics
  29. Preexposure Prophylaxis25▲ 52×1 topic
  30. Stigma and Discrimination25▲ 52×1 topic
  31. Maternal Mortality24▲ 11×5 topics
  32. SARS-CoV-223▲ 7.1×6 topics
  33. Global Burden of Disease23▲ 9.2×4 topics
  34. HIV21▲ 25×4 topics
  35. Social Determinants of Health20▲ 8.9×4 topics
  36. Adolescents20▲ 5.3×8 topics
  37. Adolescent Health20▲ 23×3 topics
  38. HIV Prevention18▲ 31×2 topics
  39. Sexual Behavior18▲ 50×1 topic
  40. Youth Risk Behavior18▲ 50×1 topic

Which research topics does South African Medical Research Council publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology, HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Global Maternal and Child Health.

Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology: 26 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 25 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Re…18Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 18 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Chil…15Global Maternal and Child Health: 15 fractional worksChild Nutrition and Water Access: 14 fractional worksVaccine Coverage and Hesitancy: 13 fractional worksSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 …11SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research: 11 fractional worksMycobacterium research and diagnosis: 10 fractional worksHIV-related health complications and treatments: 10 fractional worksIntimate Partner and Family Violence: 10 fractional works
Infectious DiseasesGeneral Health ProfessionsPediatrics, Perinatology and Child HealthNutrition and Dietetics3 others

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

  1. 1 Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology Infectious Diseases 26 works
  2. 2 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 25 works
  3. 3 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 18 works
  4. 4 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 15 works
  5. 5 Child Nutrition and Water Access Nutrition and Dietetics 14 works
  6. 6 Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy Health 13 works
  7. 7 SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research Infectious Diseases 11 works
  8. 8 Mycobacterium research and diagnosis Epidemiology 10 works
  9. 9 HIV-related health complications and treatments Emergency Medicine 10 works
  10. 10 Intimate Partner and Family Violence Health 10 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 available53.5%not open46.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors35.5%domestic only64.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has South African Medical Research Council's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 70% higher 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 Cape Town

All research institutions in Cape Town

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.