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University · Winston-Salem · United States

Wake Forest University

In research, Wake Forest University stands highest in Medicine (#149 of 10,443 worldwide), Health Sciences (#198 of 11,982 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#652 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Dermatology, Geriatrics and Gerontology and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience — Dermatology is 5.7× its share of world research.

wfu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#968
of 28,054 · #559 all time
Rank in United States
#169
of 4,192
Research works
39k
▲ 4% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.3M
33.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is Wake Forest 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
MedicineField #149 of 10,443 15.1%2,460 #149
Health SciencesDomain #198 of 11,982 15.4%2,743 #170
Life SciencesDomain #652 of 7,800 15.6%781 #269
SurgerySubfield #209 of 1,816 14.7%286 #83
Social SciencesDomain #1,413 of 10,521 17.6%958 #507
Cardiology and Cardiovascular MedicineSubfield #115 of 738 13.9%234 #67
PhysiologySubfield #86 of 548 19.0%178 #89
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #573 of 3,579 16.8%378 #337
Physical SciencesDomain #2,597 of 12,888 15.4%563 #1520
Health ProfessionsField #503 of 1,928 18.9%238 #234

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Wake Forest 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. Medicine#149 #149
  2. Health Sciences#170 #198
  3. Life Sciences#269 #652
  4. Surgery#83 #209
  5. Social Sciences#507 #1,413
  6. Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine#67 #115
  7. Physiology#89 #86
  8. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#337 #573
  9. Physical Sciences#1,520 #2,597
  10. Health Professions#234 #503
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 Wake Forest University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Dermatology takes 5.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. DermatologySubfield · 75.0 works5.7×
  2. Geriatrics and GerontologySubfield · 30.7 works5.7×
  3. Cellular and Molecular NeuroscienceSubfield · 81.1 works5.2×
← 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, 45 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.40× its world share, 378 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.75× its world share, 89 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 3.06× its world share, 250 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.06× its world share, 19 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.21× its world share, 4 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.38× its world share, 30 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.32× its world share, 126 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.09× its world share, 7 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.19× its world share, 9 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.20× its world share, 153 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.35× its world share, 88 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.25× its world share, 44 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.98× its world share, 58 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.40× its world share, 45 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.32× its world share, 8 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.79× its world share, 238 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 2.54× its world share, 2,460 worksMedicineNursing: 1.36× its world share, 34 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.53× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.87× its world share, 126 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.38× its world share, 61 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.82× its world share, 40 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.85× its world share, 92 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.48× its world share, 227 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.64× its world share, 411 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 3.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Wake Forest University?

Ranked on the composite score, Eugene R. Bleecker, Dean G. Assimos and Donald W. Bowden lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Wake Forest University.

  1. 1 Eugene R. Bleecker · #3,344 worldwide 962 citations · 108 works
  2. 2 Dean G. Assimos · #3,394 worldwide 988 citations · 130 works
  3. 3 Donald W. Bowden · #4,238 worldwide 1.6k citations · 68 works
  4. 4 Mark R. Leary · #6,448 worldwide 1.4k citations · 71 works
  5. 5 David C. Goff · #7,458 worldwide 1.1k citations · 58 works
  6. 6 Pamela W. Duncan · #8,020 worldwide 727 citations · 71 works
  7. 7 W. Jack Rejeski · #8,276 worldwide 861 citations · 59 works
  8. 8 Kim R. Geisinger · #8,440 worldwide 731 citations · 54 works
  9. 9 Lynne E. Wagenknecht · #8,650 worldwide 623 citations · 68 works
  10. 10 Gregory L. Burke · #8,655 worldwide 883 citations · 55 works
All ranked researchers at Wake Forest University

Which keywords describe research at Wake Forest University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Inflammation, Cardiovascular Disease, Aging, Oxidative Stress, Biomarkers, Quality of Life and Risk Factors.

▲ 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. Epidemiology443▲ 2.2×127 topics
  2. Inflammation293▲ 2.8×81 topics
  3. Cardiovascular Disease202▲ 3.6×37 topics
  4. Oxidative Stress180▲ 2.2×58 topics
  5. Quality of Life164▲ 2.3×50 topics
  6. Public Health163▲ 2.2×51 topics
  7. Aging149▲ 5.5×18 topics
  8. Risk Factors148▲ 2.7×36 topics
  9. Mental Health134▲ 1.81×36 topics
  10. Biomarkers131▲ 3.8×16 topics
  11. Obesity127▲ 3.3×25 topics
  12. Treatment125▲ 2.0×48 topics
  13. Depression119▲ 2.7×23 topics
  14. Metabolic Syndrome114▲ 2.8×22 topics
  15. Diagnosis108▲ 2.3×41 topics
  16. Chemotherapy95▲ 2.7×24 topics
  17. Management94▲ 2.4×29 topics
  18. Immunotherapy93▲ 2.6×19 topics
  19. Clinical Trials92▲ 2.7×19 topics
  20. Neurological Disorders91▲ 3.2×20 topics
  21. Alzheimer's Disease86▲ 6.1×7 topics
  22. Guidelines85▲ 3.6×13 topics
  23. Global Burden81▲ 3.0×12 topics
  24. Mortality79▲ 2.7×13 topics
  25. Neuroimaging79▲ 5.8×11 topics
  26. Stress70▲ 3.7×10 topics
  27. Anxiety68▲ 2.9×12 topics
  28. Heart Failure68▲ 3.1×13 topics
  29. Radiotherapy67▲ 3.4×13 topics
  30. Neuroinflammation64▲ 4.4×6 topics
  31. Hypertension60▲ 4.1×15 topics
  32. Mortality Risk59▲ 4.9×6 topics
  33. Cognitive Decline59▲ 9.7×2 topics
  34. Caregiver Burden58▲ 10×3 topics
  35. Cognitive Training58▲ 13×2 topics
  36. Dementia57▲ 12×2 topics
  37. Mild Cognitive Impairment57▲ 14×1 topic
  38. Vascular Risk Factors57▲ 14×1 topic
  39. Elderly Patients51▲ 6.1×4 topics
  40. Prefrontal Cortex50▲ 12×3 topics

Which research topics does Wake Forest University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research, Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior, Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors and Frailty in Older Adults.

Dementia and Cognitive I…57Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 57 fractional worksNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior: 33 fractional worksCardiovascular Health an…30Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors: 30 fractional worksFrailty in Older Adults27Frailty in Older Adults: 27 fractional worksAlzheimer's disease research and treatments: 27 fractional worksDermatology and Skin Diseases: 21 fractional worksNutrition and Health in …21Nutrition and Health in Aging: 21 fractional worksBlood Pressure and Hypertension Studies: 20 fractional worksPsoriasis: Treatment and Pathogenesis: 20 fractional worksFood Security and Health…20Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations: 20 fractional works
Psychiatry and Mental healthCellular and Molecular NeuroscienceCardiology and Cardiovascular MedicineGeriatrics and Gerontology4 others

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

  1. 1 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPsychiatry and Mental health 57 works
  2. 2 Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorCellular and Molecular Neuroscience 33 works
  3. 3 Cardiovascular Health and Risk FactorsCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine 30 works
  4. 4 Frailty in Older AdultsGeriatrics and Gerontology 27 works
  5. 5 Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsPhysiology 27 works
  6. 6 Dermatology and Skin DiseasesDermatology 21 works
  7. 7 Nutrition and Health in AgingPhysiology 21 works
  8. 8 Blood Pressure and Hypertension StudiesCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine 20 works
  9. 9 Psoriasis: Treatment and PathogenesisImmunology 20 works
  10. 10 Food Security and Health in Diverse PopulationsGeneral Health Professions 20 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 available34.7%not open65.3%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors9.7%domestic only90.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Wake Forest University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 4% 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 Winston-Salem

All research institutions in Winston-Salem

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.