Dr. Michael Sheetz is the top scholar in the world publishing on cytoskeletons and among the top 0.05 percent of scholars according to ScholarGPS, an analytics site which tracks and ranks scholars and institutions worldwide.
Along with ranking first in cytoskeleton research, Sheetz, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, also ranked highly in the fields of Life Sciences, Molecular and Cell Biology, Motility, Biophysics and Integrin. Sheetz was ranked at 1,156 by ScholarGPS among scholars in all fields.
“Being recognized as a top scholar in my field is a great honor and recognition of the hard work and the wonderful collaborations with colleagues around the world,” Sheetz said. “It's a testament to the dedication, curiosity, and perseverance that drives us forward in the pursuit of knowledge.”
Using metrics on research productivity, impact and other factors, ScholarGPS tracks over 30 million individual scholars who are affiliated with over 55,000 academic and non-academic institutions worldwide.
Sheetz, a cell biologist and pioneer in mechanobiology and biomechanics, was the recipient of the Pearse, Lasker and Wiley Prizes for Biomedical Sciences for work done on in vitro motility assays and the discovery of kinesin.
Since 2013, Sheetz has been on the list of 20 most influential medical researchers alive today. He has 357 publications, has been cited more than 72,000 times, and is senior author on 11 Cell papers, 10 Nature papers and six Science papers. Sheetz’s work continues to focus on understanding mechanical therapies at the molecular level to benefit human health.
“Throughout my career in research, I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful collaborators, students, postdocs and fellow faculty across many disciplines, who have made our scientific discoveries possible,” Sheetz said. "In addition, it has been a great privilege to have had the support from funding agencies and institutions that enabled us to obtain the tools needed to make the fundamental discoveries. I enjoy research and can think of no other endeavor that could replace my curious pursuit of answers to nature’s questions.”