eLife

Top Research Topics at eLife?

The topics of Cell biology, Neuroscience, Biophysics, Genetics and Gene are the focal point of discussions in the journal. In it, Cell, Transcription factor and Gene expression are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Cell biology research. Sensory system is part of Neuroscience studies tackled in eLife.

It focuses on Biophysics as well as the interrelated topic of Structural biology.

• Cell biology (31.06%)
• Neuroscience (16.85%)
• Biophysics (7.83%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Predicting effective microRNA target sites in mammalian mRNAs (3501 citations)
• New tools for automated high-resolution cryo-EM structure determination in RELION-3. (1950 citations)
• RNA-programmed genome editing in human cells (1705 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at eLife:

The most cited publications tackle a plethora of topics, such as Cell biology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Biochemistry and Gene. The journal papers investigate Cell biology research which frequently intersects with Molecular biology. The journal articles dive deep in exploring the relationship between the study of Neuroscience and Anatomy.

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in eLife (based on the number of publications) are:

• Peter Walter (55 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Eve Marder (39 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
• Huda Y. Zoghbi (39 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
• Jonathan S. Weissman (38 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Gerald M. Rubin (36 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 8 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in eLife (based on the number of publications) are:

• Harvard University (1358 papers) published 148 papers at the last edition, 95 less than at the previous edition,
• Max Planck Society (1233 papers) published 148 papers at the last edition, 61 less than at the previous edition,
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1226 papers) published 123 papers at the last edition, 45 less than at the previous edition,
• National Institutes of Health (780 papers) published 91 papers at the last edition, 69 less than at the previous edition,
• University of California, San Francisco (770 papers) published 106 papers at the last edition, 22 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 3.57% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 27.70% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.53% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 20.69% of all publications and 40.08% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Paths in Medical Research

Along with the scientific and academic aspects of research, many researchers and students may be interested in understanding different career paths available in the medical and research field. One career option that is highly relevant to topics such as cell biology, genetics, and structural biology, currently discussed on eLife, is becoming a medical biller and coder.

This career path gives individuals an opportunity to work closely with healthcare providers and insurance companies, ensuring optimized and efficient billing systems. A career in medical billing and coding also provides exposure to medical terminology and health information laws, which may be useful for those wanting to combine their interests in healthcare and research.

To understand more about what this career involves and the skills it requires, refer to our in-depth guide on how to become a medical biller and coder in Virginia. Understanding various career paths can help give a clearer perspective for those considering or currently undertaking research in healthcare-related fields.