World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Protein & Cell
H-index 48

Protein & Cell

1674-800X

Published by: Springer

https://www.springer.com/journal/13238

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Molecular Biology 48 40 64 24
Biology and Biochemistry 137 83 139 36

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 251
Documents by Best Scientists*: 252
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 11
SCIMAGO H-index: 104
SCIMAGO SJR: 5.392
Impact Factor: 12.8

Overview

Top Research Topics at Protein & Cell?

Protein & Cell was organized to reinforce research efforts on Stem cell, Cell biology, Human genetics, Developmental biology and Biochemistry. In it, Embryonic stem cell, Induced pluripotent stem cell, Cancer research, Cellular differentiation and Immunology are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Stem cell research. The journal connects research in Cancer research with the related topic of Cancer.

The main emphasis of Protein & Cell is the research on Immunology, emphasizing the topic of Immune system. Signal transduction is part of Cell biology studies tackled in it. While work presented in the journal provided substantial information on Human genetics, it also covered topics in Virology, Computational biology, MEDLINE and Bioinformatics.

It explores research in Developmental biology and the adjacent study of Evolutionary biology. Specifically, studies on Protein structure are prevalent in the Biochemistry works discussed. Genetics research presented is mostly focused on the subject of Gene.

  • Stem cell (34.00%)
  • Cell biology (31.62%)
  • Human genetics (27.53%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in human tripronuclear zygotes (696 citations)
  • The hierarchy quorum sensing network in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (526 citations)
  • Structure and function of WD40 domain proteins. (381 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Protein & Cell:

The journal articles tackle a plethora of topics, such as Cell biology, Stem cell, Immunology, Biochemistry and Cancer research. The works on Cell biology tackled in the published papers bring together disciplines like Autophagy, Genetics and Tissue homeostasis. In addition to Stem cell research, the published articles aim to explore topics under Cellular differentiation, Developmental biology, Human genetics and Induced pluripotent stem cell.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Gene
  • Enzyme
  • DNA

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal generally zeroes in on subjects such as Human genetics, Stem cell, Developmental biology, Cell biology and Computational biology. Human genetics is the main point of discussion in the journal but it also connects with fields such as

  • Virology and related Antibody,
  • Obesity that connect with fields like Bioinformatics.. It focuses on Stem cell but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Cell, Cancer research, Neuroscience and Immune system.

The journal explores topics in Developmental biology which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Embryonic stem cell, Text mining, Chromatin, Mesenchymal stem cell and Embryo. It is focused mainly on Cell biology, particularly Function (biology). Topics in Computational biology explored in it were investigated in conjunction with research in Genome editing, Gene, CRISPR and DNA.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Cystine transporter SLC7A11/xCT in cancer: ferroptosis, nutrient dependency, and cancer therapy (58 citations)
  • A practical guide to amplicon and metagenomic analysis of microbiome data (52 citations)
  • The microbiome in inflammatory bowel diseases: from pathogenesis to therapy. (26 citations)

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.

The top authors publishing in Protein & Cell (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Guang-Hui Liu (43 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Zihe Rao (34 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
  • Jing Qu (33 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Weiqi Zhang (28 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • George F. Gao (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.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Protein & Cell (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (515 papers) published 36 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Tsinghua University (139 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Peking University (99 papers) published 12 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • Nankai University (71 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
  • Fudan University (66 papers) published 15 papers at the last edition, 4 more 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, 0.85% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 68.97% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 6.03% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 14.66% of all publications and 10.34% 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.

Top Publications

  • Cystine transporter SLC7A11/xCT in cancer: ferroptosis, nutrient dependency, and cancer therapy

    Pranavi Koppula;Li Zhuang;Boyi Gan;Boyi Gan

    (2021)
    1414 Citations
  • Recapitulation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and cholangiocyte damage with human liver ductal organoids.

    Bing Zhao;Chao Ni;Ran Gao;Yuyan Wang

    (2020)
    430 Citations
  • Ferroptosis, radiotherapy, and combination therapeutic strategies

    Guang Lei;Chao Mao;Yuelong Yan;Li Zhuang

    (2021)
    283 Citations
  • A human circulating immune cell landscape in aging and COVID-19.

    Yingfeng Zheng;Xiuxing Liu;Wenqing Le;Lihui Xie

    (2020)
    218 Citations
  • Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 main protease in complex with protease inhibitor PF-07321332.

    Yao Zhao;Chao Fang;Qi Zhang;Qi Zhang;Ruxue Zhang

    (2021)
    199 Citations
  • Novel and potent inhibitors targeting DHODH are broad-spectrum antivirals against RNA viruses including newly-emerged coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

    (2020)
    163 Citations
  • High-throughput screening identifies established drugs as SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors.

    Yao Zhao;Xiaoyu Du;Yinkai Duan;Xiaoyan Pan

    (2021)
    151 Citations
  • Insights into epigenetic patterns in mammalian early embryos

    Ruimin Xu;Chong Li;Xiaoyu Liu;Shaorong Gao

    (2021)
    138 Citations
  • The potential of using blood circular RNA as liquid biopsy biomarker for human diseases

    (2020)
    138 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For students interested in expanding their expertise beyond Biology and Biochemistry, pursuing degrees in counseling and psychology offers promising career pathways. Those looking for affordable education options can explore the cheapest counseling degree online, which provides accessible entry points into mental health professions without compromising quality.

Specialized programs are also available, such as the mental health counseling online masters, designed for those seeking to quickly advance their careers while balancing other responsibilities. This flexibility is critical for professionals aiming to make a meaningful impact in clinical settings.

For those dedicated to working with younger populations, an child psychology masters offers specialized knowledge essential for supporting children's mental and emotional development.

Overall, exploring online masters programs for counseling can provide a flexible, cost-effective way to build a rewarding career that complements a strong foundation in the biological sciences.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

Recently Published Articles