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University · St Louis · United States

Washington University in St. Louis

In research, Washington University in St. Louis stands highest in Life Sciences (#10 of 7,800 worldwide), Medicine (#19 of 10,443 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#30 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology, Transplantation and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience — Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology is 7.1× its share of world research.

wustl.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#69
of 28,054 · #41 all time
Rank in United States
#17
of 4,192
Research works
118k
▲ 8% vs 2013–17
Citations
6M
50.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
20.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
41%
world 28%

What is Washington University in St. Louis 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 #10 of 7,800 24.2%3,015 #9
MedicineField #19 of 10,443 19.4%5,737 #10
Health SciencesDomain #30 of 11,982 20.1%6,283 #17
NeuroscienceField #6 of 1,168 24.6%701 #10
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #27 of 3,579 23.1%1,701 #19
Molecular BiologySubfield #18 of 2,175 23.7%979 #20
Social SciencesDomain #108 of 10,521 23.5%2,497 #59
SurgerySubfield #23 of 1,816 18.7%821 #11
PsychologyField #28 of 2,181 25.8%649 #32
Immunology and MicrobiologyField #9 of 682 25.3%423 #12

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Washington University in St. Louis 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#9 #10
  2. Medicine#10 #19
  3. Health Sciences#17 #30
  4. Neuroscience#10 #6
  5. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#19 #27
  6. Molecular Biology#20 #18
  7. Social Sciences#59 #108
  8. Surgery#11 #23
  9. Psychology#32 #28
  10. Immunology and Microbiology#12 #9
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 Washington University in St. Louis specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology takes 7.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Neuropsychology and Physiological PsychologySubfield · 33.1 works7.1×
  2. TransplantationSubfield · 37.1 works5.8×
  3. Cellular and Molecular NeuroscienceSubfield · 171.4 works3.8×
  4. HematologySubfield · 157.2 works3.6×
  5. ImmunologySubfield · 349.8 works3.5×
  6. Developmental NeuroscienceSubfield · 24.6 works3.5×
← 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: 0.23× its world share, 157 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2.23× its world share, 1,701 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 2.93× its world share, 422 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 3.02× its world share, 701 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.66× its world share, 33 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.47× its world share, 23 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.53× its world share, 118 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.42× its world share, 472 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.65× its world share, 145 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.30× its world share, 39 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.35× its world share, 761 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.45× its world share, 324 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.31× its world share, 156 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.94× its world share, 158 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.04× its world share, 330 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.23× its world share, 16 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.25× its world share, 470 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 2.08× its world share, 5,737 worksMedicineNursing: 0.72× its world share, 50 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.50× its world share, 10 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.64× its world share, 264 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.42× its world share, 193 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.71× its world share, 98 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.92× its world share, 283 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.49× its world share, 649 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.56× its world share, 1,010 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Washington University in St. Louis?

Ranked on the composite score, Elaine R. Mardis, John C. Morris and Marcus E. Raichle lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Washington University in St. Louis.

  1. 1 Elaine R. Mardis United States · #424 worldwide 3k citations · 123 works
  2. 2 John C. Morris United States · #720 worldwide 5.1k citations · 361 works
  3. 3 Marcus E. Raichle United States · #860 worldwide 3.6k citations · 95 works
  4. 4 David M. Holtzman United States · #1,058 worldwide 2.8k citations · 150 works
  5. 5 George M. Weinstock United States · #1,929 worldwide 2k citations · 95 works
  6. 6 Jeffrey I. Gordon United States · #1,938 worldwide 2.9k citations · 95 works
  7. 7 Anne M. Fagan United States · #1,978 worldwide 1.7k citations · 125 works
  8. 8 Li Ding United States · #2,066 worldwide 1.9k citations · 142 works
  9. 9 C. Robert Cloninger United States · #2,237 worldwide 2.5k citations · 90 works
  10. 10 Raj Jain United States · #2,538 worldwide 1.3k citations · 107 works
All ranked researchers at Washington University in St. Louis

Which keywords describe research at Washington University in St. Louis?

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

▲ 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. Epidemiology1,043▲ 1.84×135 topics
  2. Inflammation556▲ 1.87×82 topics
  3. Oxidative Stress407▲ 1.74×60 topics
  4. Cancer380▲ 1.98×54 topics
  5. Quality of Life344▲ 1.66×54 topics
  6. Mental Health319▲ 1.52×42 topics
  7. Public Health298▲ 1.43×65 topics
  8. Biomarkers281▲ 2.9×18 topics
  9. Immunotherapy279▲ 2.7×19 topics
  10. Treatment277▲ 1.59×52 topics
  11. Risk Factors270▲ 1.72×37 topics
  12. Aging245▲ 3.2×18 topics
  13. Depression239▲ 1.90×24 topics
  14. Neurological Disorders234▲ 2.9×20 topics
  15. Chemotherapy227▲ 2.3×25 topics
  16. Cardiovascular Disease219▲ 1.38×38 topics
  17. Genetics216▲ 2.2×27 topics
  18. Diagnosis212▲ 1.59×40 topics
  19. Clinical Trials188▲ 1.96×19 topics
  20. Gene Expression187▲ 2.1×20 topics
  21. Complications183▲ 2.6×17 topics
  22. Metabolic Syndrome180▲ 1.55×23 topics
  23. Genetic Mutations179▲ 2.9×23 topics
  24. Prognostic Factors178▲ 2.9×14 topics
  25. Neuroinflammation174▲ 4.3×6 topics
  26. Neurodegeneration167▲ 3.9×11 topics
  27. Neuroimaging163▲ 4.2×11 topics
  28. Radiotherapy160▲ 2.9×13 topics
  29. Immunity156▲ 2.7×11 topics
  30. Innate Immunity136▲ 3.0×11 topics
  31. Alzheimer's Disease134▲ 3.3×9 topics
  32. Targeted Therapy117▲ 3.7×5 topics
  33. Cognitive Decline115▲ 6.7×2 topics
  34. Brain Development113▲ 4.5×6 topics
  35. Cancer Immunotherapy110▲ 5.0×3 topics
  36. Cognitive Training100▲ 7.6×2 topics
  37. Caregiver Burden98▲ 6.2×3 topics
  38. Dementia94▲ 7.0×2 topics
  39. Mild Cognitive Impairment94▲ 7.8×1 topic
  40. Vascular Risk Factors94▲ 7.8×1 topic

Which research topics does Washington University in St. Louis publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research, Alzheimer's disease research and treatments, Immune Cell Function and Interaction and Functional Brain Connectivity Studies.

Dementia and Cognitive I…94Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 94 fractional worksAlzheimer's disease rese…67Alzheimer's disease research and treatments: 67 fractional worksImmune Cell Function and Interaction: 67 fractional worksFunctional Brain Connect…61Functional Brain Connectivity Studies: 61 fractional worksCAR-T cell therapy resea…60CAR-T cell therapy research: 60 fractional worksCancer Genomics and Diagnostics: 58 fractional worksAcute Myeloid Leukemia Research: 48 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…48Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 48 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 47 fractional worksCancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers: 42 fractional works
Psychiatry and Mental healthPhysiologyImmunologyCognitive Neuroscience5 others

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

  1. 1 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research Psychiatry and Mental health 94 works
  2. 2 Alzheimer's disease research and treatments Physiology 67 works
  3. 3 Immune Cell Function and Interaction Immunology 67 works
  4. 4 Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Cognitive Neuroscience 61 works
  5. 5 CAR-T cell therapy research Oncology 60 works
  6. 6 Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Cancer Research 58 works
  7. 7 Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research Hematology 48 works
  8. 8 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 48 works
  9. 9 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 47 works
  10. 10 Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers Oncology 42 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 available41.0%not open59.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors10.8%domestic only89.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Washington University in St. Louis's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 8% 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 St Louis

All research institutions in St Louis

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.