Professor Jian-Feng Ma and Associate Professor YAMAJI Naoki from Okayama University Institute of Plant Science and Resources were ranked among the Highly Cited Researchers 2020 by Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters IP & Science). Professor Ma has been selected for 6 consecutive years since 2015, and Associate Professor Yamaji was selected for the 5th time.

Through their ongoing research, Professor Ma and Associate Professor Yamaji have identified critical transport mechanisms of various mineral nutrients that influence plant growth and have been named as globally influential scientists in the field of Plant & Animal Science.

Highly Cited Researchers are those researchers who have garnered international attention for their influence and performance in one of 21 fields in natural sciences and social sciences, or across multiple fields. During the evaluation process, papers that have been published and cited in the past 11 years are surveyed and ranked. 6,389 researchers were named Highly Cited Researchers in 2020. These esteemed researchers have published papers that ranked in the top 1% by citations for their fields at the end of 2019, indicating their impact on subsequent research in their respective fields or in across numerous fields. Consequently, they received the title of “most influential scientists in the world”.

Okayama University has been designated as a leading research university by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology according its program for promoting the enhanced research capabilities of universities. In particular, the Institute of Plant Science and Resources (IPSR) to which Professor Ma and Associate Professor Yamaji belong is conducting specialized research in the field of plant science and has continually produced world-class research results.

See the list of Highly Cited Researchers 2020 here