PLoS Pathogens

Top Research Topics at PLOS Pathogens?

PLOS Pathogens aims to foster the development of research in Virology, Cell biology, Immunology, Microbiology and Immune system. The studies on Virology discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Epitope, Antibody and Antigen. PLOS Pathogens focuses on Cell biology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Molecular biology, Membrane protein and Secretion.

The Immunology research presented in PLOS Pathogens explores the relationship between Cytotoxic T cell and the closely related topic of CD8. The journal explores issues in Microbiology which can be linked to other research areas like Bacteria, Mutant and Virulence. Gene and Genetics are the foundational disciplines used for the Virulence research featured in PLOS Pathogens.

Innate immune system and Immunity are all subfields of Immune system research that were featured in PLOS Pathogens. In particular, the Virus works presented emphasize discussions on Influenza A virus. Most of the works presented in PLOS Pathogens deals with Viral replication but it intersects with the subject of RNA.

• Virology (24.38%)
• Cell biology (23.69%)
• Immunology (16.86%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• A single mutation in chikungunya virus affects vector specificity and epidemic potential. (1066 citations)
• Influenza virus transmission is dependent on relative humidity and temperature. (1059 citations)
• Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Contain Calprotectin, a Cytosolic Protein Complex Involved in Host Defense against Candida albicans (1046 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at PLOS Pathogens:

The main points discussed in the most cited articles deal with Virology, Microbiology, Immunology, Cell biology and Genetics. The study on Virology presented in the published articles is investigated in conjunction with research in Antibody. In addition to Cell biology research, the published articles aim to explore topics under Molecular biology, Membrane protein and Secretion.

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 PLOS Pathogens (based on the number of publications) are:

• Edward C. Holmes (40 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Michael S. Diamond (33 papers) absent at the last edition,
• S. Robertson Erle (31 papers) absent at the last edition,
• David C. Montefiori (30 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
• Erle S. Robertson (27 papers) absent at the last 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 PLOS Pathogens (based on the number of publications) are:

• National Institutes of Health (503 papers) published 43 papers at the last edition, 15 more than at the previous edition,
• Harvard University (293 papers) published 16 papers at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
• Pasteur Institute (279 papers) published 12 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique (224 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
• Imperial College London (219 papers) published 13 papers at the last edition, 1 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, 2.04% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 20.12% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.92% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 14.90% of all publications and 53.06% 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.