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Subfield · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Biotechnology research

Biotechnology is a subfield of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Science Explorer counts 230k research works in it since 1950. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products.

Research works
230k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
23k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
8
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+10%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
37% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Biotechnology

What is Biotechnology research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2021-25, its most used keywords are Gene Therapy, Bacterial Therapy, Tumor Targeting, Microbial Inactivation, Biosynthesis, Biotechnological Production. Gaining share since 2011-15: Ferulic Acid, Vanillin, Biosynthesis, Biotechnological Production. Losing share: Marine Natural Products, Sponge-Associated Microorganisms.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2021-25 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2011-15. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 20 words, with their numbers
  1. Gene Therapy14k◆ 1.02×2 topics
  2. Bacterial Therapy9,474◆ 0.99×1 topic
  3. Tumor Targeting9,474◆ 0.99×1 topic
  4. Microbial Inactivation9,214◆ 1.04×2 topics
  5. Biosynthesis8,379▲ 1.26×2 topics
  6. Biotechnological Production8,379▲ 1.26×2 topics
  7. Biotechnological Applications7,366◆ 0.88×1 topic
  8. Microbial Enzymes7,366◆ 0.88×1 topic
  9. Food Colorants5,173◆ 1.11×1 topic
  10. Microbial Pigments5,173◆ 1.11×1 topic
  11. Electroporation5,017◆ 1.09×1 topic
  12. Irreversible Electroporation5,017◆ 1.09×1 topic
  13. Plant Molecular Farming4,451◆ 1.01×1 topic
  14. Recombinant Proteins4,451◆ 1.01×1 topic
  15. Foodborne Illness4,197◆ 0.98×1 topic
  16. Listeria monocytogenes4,197◆ 0.98×1 topic
  17. Marine Natural Products3,796▼ 0.79×1 topic
  18. Sponge-Associated Microorganisms3,796▼ 0.79×1 topic
  19. Ferulic Acid3,206▲ 1.61×1 topic
  20. Vanillin3,206▲ 1.61×1 topic

Which countries lead Biotechnology research?

On research quality in 2022-now, China, the United States and Germany rank highest in Biotechnology. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (9.6k and 5.4k works in 2022-now).

By research quality, 2022-now

  1. 1 China #2 all time 1.39× excellence · 1.17× journals · 100% breadth 14.9% top 10% · 8k works
  2. 2 United States #1 all time 0.84× excellence · 1.51× journals · 100% breadth 10.8% top 10% · 4.5k works
  3. 3 Germany #3 all time 1.04× excellence · 1.41× journals · 100% breadth 8.9% top 10% · 900 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom #4 all time 1.10× excellence · 1.46× journals · 100% breadth 11.7% top 10% · 632 works
  5. 5 France #5 all time 0.88× excellence · 1.24× journals · 100% breadth 7.4% top 10% · 709 works
  6. 6 Spain #6 all time 1.14× excellence · 0.99× journals · 100% breadth 10.8% top 10% · 658 works
  7. 7 Canada #8 all time 1.05× excellence · 1.21× journals · 100% breadth 11.2% top 10% · 461 works
  8. 8 Netherlands #7 all time 1.27× excellence · 1.45× journals · 100% breadth 11.1% top 10% · 229 works
  9. 9 Australia #10 all time 1.16× excellence · 1.20× journals · 100% breadth 12.8% top 10% · 358 works
  10. 10 India #13 all time 0.93× excellence · 0.43× journals · 100% breadth 8.8% top 10% · 2.8k works

The track on each row is that row's top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the quality score, which compares the rate with what each place's own topics predict, adds its share of papers in the Nature Index journals, and counts output and breadth too.

Of 29 countries ranked in Biotechnology. Ranked on the quality score for 2022-now; the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Biotechnology

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 9.6k works
  2. 2 United States 5.4k works
  3. 3 India 3.3k works
  4. 4 Japan 1.3k works
  5. 5 Indonesia 1.3k works
  6. 6 Brazil 1.2k works
  7. 7 South Korea 1.1k works
  8. 8 Germany 1.1k works
  9. 9 Italy 861 works
  10. 10 France 812 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 37.1%United States: 20.8%India: 12.8%Japan: 5.0%6 others listed: 24.3%37%largest
China9,569 · 37.1%United States5,363 · 20.8%India3,286 · 12.8%Japan1,297 · 5.0%6 others listed6,255 · 24.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Biotechnology research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Biotechnology on research quality in 2022-now, followed by Harvard University and Zhejiang University.

By research quality, 2022-now

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #2 all time 15.8% top 10% · 321 works
  2. 2 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 13.2% top 10% · 96 works
  3. 3 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #29 all time 17.0% top 10% · 128 works
  4. 4 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #26 all time 15.3% top 10% · 126 works
  5. 5 University of California San Diego United States · San Diego · #4 all time 10.6% top 10% · 65 works
  6. 6 Cornell University United States · Ithaca · #6 all time 12.7% top 10% · 67 works
  7. 7 Sichuan University China · Chengdu · #46 all time 18.8% top 10% · 103 works
  8. 8 Sun Yat-sen University China · Guangzhou · #47 all time 15.0% top 10% · 99 works
  9. 9 Jiangnan University China · Wuxi · #56 all time 21.9% top 10% · 186 works
  10. 10 National Institutes of Health United States · Bethesda · #3 all time 13.9% top 10% · 68 works

The track on each row is that row's top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the quality score, which compares the rate with what each place's own topics predict, adds its share of papers in the Nature Index journals, and counts output and breadth too.

Of 38 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Biotechnology.

Top 100 Biotechnology institutions

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 374 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChina 303 works
  3. 3 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 298 works
  4. 4 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 228 works
  5. 5 Jiangnan UniversityChina 213 works
  6. 6 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 154 works
  7. 7 Zhejiang UniversityChina 151 works
  8. 8 Nanchang UniversityChina 146 works
  9. 9 Indian Council of Agricultural ResearchIndia 137 works
  10. 10 United States Department of AgricultureUnited States 133 works

Who are the leading researchers in Biotechnology?

Counting only their work in Biotechnology, Pascale Cossart, Marc Lecuit and Martin Wiedmann have the most papers in the world top 10% for their subfield and year beyond the 10% expected.

  1. 1 Pascale Cossart France · #11,615 worldwide overall 49.4 of 136 papers here in the top 10%
  2. 2 Marc Lecuit France · #18,262 worldwide overall 29.9 of 67 papers here in the top 10%
  3. 3 Martin Wiedmann United States · #180,813 worldwide overall 45.1 of 160 papers here in the top 10%
  4. 4 Bernard Henrissat France · #5,714 worldwide overall 31.0 of 105 papers here in the top 10%
  5. 5 Dietrich Knorr Germany · #83,631 worldwide overall 28.3 of 93 papers here in the top 10%
  6. 6 Daniel A. Portnoy United States · #6,009 worldwide overall 22.7 of 45 papers here in the top 10%
  7. 7 John Ralph United States · #16,508 worldwide overall 22.8 of 51 papers here in the top 10%
  8. 8 Patrick Joseph Cullen Australia · #6,459 worldwide overall 21.0 of 36 papers here in the top 10%
  9. 9 Kathryn J. Boor United States · #60,167 worldwide overall 22.9 of 56 papers here in the top 10%
  10. 10 Henry Daniell United States · #44,911 worldwide overall 20.7 of 45 papers here in the top 10%

Ranked on their work in Biotechnology alone: how many more of their papers here reached the world top 10% for their subfield and year than the 10% expected, among 889,000 ranked researchers with a paper here. Each paper counts once, so many strong papers outrank one famous one, and a long record of ordinary papers does not climb. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Biotechnology researchers

What are the most cited papers in Biotechnology?

The most cited paper in Biotechnology is "Radiotherapy Plus Concomitant and Adjuvant Temozolomide for Glioblastoma" (Roger Stupp, Warren P. Mason, Martin J. van den Bent et al., 2005), with 22,109 citations. Next come "Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions" (9,794) and "Microenvironmental regulation of tumor progression and metastasis" (8,290).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Radiotherapy Plus Concomitant and Adjuvant Temozolomide for Glioblastoma Roger Stupp, Warren P. Mason, Martin J. van den Bent et al. · New England Journal of Medicine Open access 9 Mar 2005 22,109
2 Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions Douglas Hanahan · Cancer Discovery Open access 2022 9,794
3 Microenvironmental regulation of tumor progression and metastasis Daniela F. Quail, Johanna A. Joyce · Nature Medicine Open access Nov 2013 8,290
4 Solvent content of protein crystals Brian W. Matthews · Journal of Molecular Biology Apr 1968 7,987
5 Effects of radiotherapy with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide versus radiotherapy alone on survival in glioblastoma in a randomised phase III study: 5-year analysis of the EORTC-NCIC trial Roger Stupp et al. · The Lancet Oncology 10 Mar 2009 7,889
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Biotechnology research done?

The largest centres of Biotechnology research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Guangzhou (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Wyndmoor, Pingtung City and Teramo.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 1.4k works
  2. 2 ShanghaiChina 627 works
  3. 3 GuangzhouChina 516 works
  4. 4 NanjingChina 460 works
  5. 5 SeoulSouth Korea 430 works
  6. 6 HangzhouChina 384 works
  7. 7 TokyoJapan 342 works
  8. 8 MoscowRussia 332 works
  9. 9 WuhanChina 328 works
  10. 10 WuxiChina 324 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. WyndmoorUS · 23.5 works78×
  2. Pingtung CityTW · 49.4 works16×
  3. TeramoIT · 20.4 works12×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Biotechnology than the world average.

See Biotechnology on the map

Biotechnology research by country

The best places for Biotechnology research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Biotechnology?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, University of California San Diego and Cornell University score highest, combining standing in the field's ranking, excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 15.11%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Jiangnan UniversityHarvard UniversityCornell UniversityUniversity of Califo…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Standingthis field's institution ranking, three quarters all time and a quarter 2022-now
50%
Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
20%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
5%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
15%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
5%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
5%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreRank in field (all time)Top 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Harvard UniversityUnited States 81.8#2 (#1)13.5%1.1×115 -6.0%
2University of California San DiegoUnited States 67.7#5 (#4)9.9%2.3×74 +10.7%
3Cornell UniversityUnited States 62.1#6 (#6)12.5%1.9×83 -7.5%
4Jiangnan UniversityChina 57.3#9 (#56)21.2%10.8×213 +37.5%
5Zhejiang UniversityChina 56.9#3 (#29)16.4%1.7×150 +7.3%
6Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 56.4#4 (#26)14.5%1.6×154 +30.2%
7China Agricultural UniversityChina 53.1#11 (#37)17.9%5.8×107 +37.4%
8University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 53.1- (#9)18.1%1.2×68 +5.9%
9Stanford UniversityUnited States 52.1- (#5)9.3%1.0×48 -11.3%
10ETH ZurichSwitzerland 52.1- (#8)17.8%1.1×27 +1.2%

Universities only. The score blends standing (50%), excellence (20%), size (15%), specialisation (5%), growth (5%), international reach (5%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise. Standing is the score in this field's institution ranking, three quarters over all time and a quarter 2022-now; excellence averages the two windows too. Four years alone undercount fields such as AI, where many conference and arXiv papers from 2022 on carry no affiliation in the data.

Every institution in Biotechnology, country by country

Is Biotechnology research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 10% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Biochemical and biochemical processes, Microbial Metabolism and Applications and Cancer Research and Treatments.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Biotechnology as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.15% in 2024.

still counting0.20%0.40%Biotechnology0.16% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Biotechnology over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Biotechnology10.2% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Biochemical and biochemical processes+29%
  2. Microbial Metabolism and Applications+25%
  3. Cancer Research and Treatments+18%
  4. Transgenic Plants and Applications+15%
  5. Listeria monocytogenes in Food Safety+2%
  6. Enzyme Production and Characterization+1%
  7. Marine Sponges and Natural Products-1%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2018-21 to 2022-25. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Biotechnology include?

Enzyme Production and Ch…50kEnzyme Production and Characterization: 50k fractional worksCancer Research and Trea…48kCancer Research and Treatments: 48k fractional worksTransgenic Plants and Applications: 27k fractional worksMarine Sponges and Natur…25kMarine Sponges and Natural Products: 25k fractional worksMicrobial Inactivation M…24kMicrobial Inactivation Methods: 24k fractional worksMicrobial Metabolism and Applications: 22k fractional worksListeria monocytogenes in Food Safety: 21k fractional worksBiochemical and biochemical processes: 12k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.

Share who leads Biotechnology

Who leads Biotechnology, on Science Explorer

A card with the countries and institutions that lead Biotechnology, for a post or a slide.

Download the card

1200 × 630 PNG, sized for social posts, drawn from the latest snapshot.

The leading institutions' badges6Each links to that institution's page and updates with every snapshot

Questions people ask

Which are the biggest biotech hubs in the world?

The largest centres of Biotechnology research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Guangzhou (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Wyndmoor, Pingtung City and Teramo.

Where is Biotechnology research done?

Where is the best place to study biotechnology?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, University of California San Diego and Cornell University score highest, combining standing in the field's ranking, excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

See the full answer
All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

Discussion

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