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University · Nashville · United States

Vanderbilt University

In research, Vanderbilt University stands highest in Health Sciences (#191 of 11,982 worldwide), Medicine (#170 of 10,443 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#146 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroscience — Cognitive Neuroscience is 4.3× its share of world research.

vanderbilt.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#282
of 28,054 · #118 all time
Rank in United States
#61
of 4,192
Research works
81k
▼ 12% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.2M
39.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
34%
world 28%

What is Vanderbilt University 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 #191 of 11,982 19.6%2,329 #46
MedicineField #170 of 10,443 19.0%2,016 #53
Life SciencesDomain #146 of 7,800 19.8%1,527 #54
Social SciencesDomain #198 of 10,521 25.3%2,379 #83
Social SciencesField #156 of 6,365 27.0%1,159 #83
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #119 of 3,579 20.4%855 #35
EducationSubfield #87 of 1,892 36.9%231 #24
Physical SciencesDomain #627 of 12,888 18.5%1,996 #336
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #190 of 2,578 25.1%361 #91
Molecular BiologySubfield #167 of 2,175 19.8%526 #50

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Vanderbilt University 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#46 #191
  2. Medicine#53 #170
  3. Life Sciences#54 #146
  4. Social Sciences#83 #198
  5. Social Sciences#83 #156
  6. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#35 #119
  7. Education#24 #87
  8. Physical Sciences#336 #627
  9. Sociology and Political Science#91 #190
  10. Molecular Biology#50 #167
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 Vanderbilt University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Cognitive Neuroscience takes 4.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Cognitive NeuroscienceSubfield · 259.0 works4.3×
  2. Cellular and Molecular NeuroscienceSubfield · 100.7 works3.9×
  3. NeuroscienceField · 443.1 works3.3×
← 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: 0.19× its world share, 76 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.95× its world share, 855 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.46× its world share, 121 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 3.32× its world share, 443 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.11× its world share, 32 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.41× its world share, 12 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.78× its world share, 101 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.86× its world share, 551 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.46× its world share, 59 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.22× its world share, 17 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.53× its world share, 657 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.34× its world share, 137 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.36× its world share, 104 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.47× its world share, 143 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.17× its world share, 215 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.11× its world share, 4 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.14× its world share, 248 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.27× its world share, 2,016 worksMedicineNursing: 1.11× its world share, 45 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.47× its world share, 16 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.33× its world share, 316 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.45× its world share, 119 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.07× its world share, 85 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.06× its world share, 187 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.04× its world share, 513 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.11× its world share, 1,159 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 3.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Vanderbilt University?

Ranked on the composite score, Jeffrey A. Sosman, L. Gauthier and Stanley Cohen lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Vanderbilt University.

  1. 1 Jeffrey A. Sosman United States · #1,134 worldwide 3k citations · 93 works
  2. 2 L. Gauthier United States · #1,570 worldwide 3.7k citations · 141 works
  3. 3 Stanley Cohen United States · #1,785 worldwide 1.6k citations · 99 works
  4. 4 G. Wilkinson United States · #3,356 worldwide 1.7k citations · 123 works
  5. 5 Harold L. Moses United States · #3,821 worldwide 1.3k citations · 72 works
  6. 6 Dawood Darbar United States · #3,847 worldwide 1.3k citations · 76 works
  7. 7 Steven D. Hollon United States · #6,562 worldwide 1.4k citations · 76 works
  8. 8 John A. Oates United States · #6,682 worldwide 938 citations · 82 works
  9. 9 Lynn M. Matrisian United States · #7,441 worldwide 1.3k citations · 55 works
  10. 10 Dan M. Roden United States · #7,855 worldwide 2.6k citations · 289 works
All ranked researchers at Vanderbilt University

Which keywords describe research at Vanderbilt University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Inflammation, Deep Learning, Mental Health, Machine Learning, Cancer, Language Development and Neurological Disorders.

▲ 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. Epidemiology399▲ 1.22×126 topics
  2. Deep Learning296◆ 1.05×80 topics
  3. Machine Learning258◆ 0.96×83 topics
  4. Inflammation253▲ 1.48×81 topics
  5. Mental Health190▲ 1.58×38 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress172▲ 1.28×59 topics
  7. Cancer165▲ 1.50×48 topics
  8. Quality of Life163▲ 1.37×51 topics
  9. Globalization161◆ 1.00×93 topics
  10. Public Health151▲ 1.26×56 topics
  11. Cardiovascular Disease123▲ 1.35×38 topics
  12. Depression118▲ 1.63×23 topics
  13. Neurological Disorders115▲ 2.5×20 topics
  14. Genetics113▲ 1.96×24 topics
  15. Risk Factors107▲ 1.18×37 topics
  16. Emotion Regulation93▲ 3.6×9 topics
  17. Religion89▲ 2.3×35 topics
  18. Gender88▲ 1.97×40 topics
  19. Biomarkers88▲ 1.56×17 topics
  20. Nationalism86▲ 2.3×27 topics
  21. Precision Medicine79▲ 2.1×8 topics
  22. Adolescents72▲ 2.4×9 topics
  23. Health Disparities70▲ 3.2×8 topics
  24. Language Development70▲ 7.0×5 topics
  25. Cell Signaling59▲ 4.7×12 topics
  26. Brain Connectivity59▲ 7.6×2 topics
  27. Public Opinion58▲ 5.6×6 topics
  28. Intersectionality57▲ 3.9×12 topics
  29. Academic Achievement57▲ 4.1×10 topics
  30. Executive Functioning56▲ 5.4×3 topics
  31. Metabolic Regulation55▲ 4.0×5 topics
  32. Psychopathology55▲ 3.7×3 topics
  33. Anxiety Disorders50▲ 5.4×2 topics
  34. Prefrontal Cortex48▲ 7.2×3 topics
  35. Working Memory46▲ 6.1×3 topics
  36. Theology45▲ 5.7×5 topics
  37. Early Intervention44▲ 5.9×2 topics
  38. Neuronal Circuits41▲ 6.5×2 topics
  39. Special Education40▲ 8.4×5 topics
  40. Church History40▲ 11×3 topics

Which research topics does Vanderbilt University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Autism Spectrum Disorder Research, Family and Disability Support Research, Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development and Reformation and Early Modern Christianity.

Autism Spectrum Disorder…37Autism Spectrum Disorder Research: 37 fractional worksFamily and Disability Su…35Family and Disability Support Research: 35 fractional worksChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 35 fractional worksReformation and Early Mo…33Reformation and Early Modern Christianity: 33 fractional worksFunctional Brain Connect…32Functional Brain Connectivity Studies: 32 fractional worksReceptor Mechanisms and Signaling: 31 fractional worksNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research: 30 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…29Neural dynamics and brain function: 29 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics: 26 fractional worksAdvanced MRI Techniques and Applications: 24 fractional works
Cognitive NeuroscienceClinical PsychologyHistoryMolecular Biology3 others

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

  1. 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Cognitive Neuroscience 37 works
  2. 2 Family and Disability Support Research Clinical Psychology 35 works
  3. 3 Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Clinical Psychology 35 works
  4. 4 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 33 works
  5. 5 Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Cognitive Neuroscience 32 works
  6. 6 Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling Molecular Biology 31 works
  7. 7 Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience 30 works
  8. 8 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 29 works
  9. 9 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 26 works
  10. 10 Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 24 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 available34.2%not open65.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.2%domestic only88.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Vanderbilt University'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 Nashville

All research institutions in Nashville

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.