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Molecular Biology
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Molecular Biology

D-Index
141
Citations
83923
World Ranking
121
National Ranking
80

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
147
Citations
90379
World Ranking
202
National Ranking
138

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2005 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians

Overview

Ajit Varki is affiliated with the University of California, San Diego in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, with a strong focus on Molecular Biology, Organic Chemistry, Immunology, Cell Biology, and Genetics as key subfields.

Their work encompasses several main topics, including:

  • Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research
  • Carbohydrate Chemistry and Synthesis
  • Proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans research
  • Galectins and Cancer Biology
  • Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Escherichia coli research studies
  • Reproductive tract infections research

Ajit Varki has contributed to multiple research papers in notable venues, among them:

  • "Display of the human mucinome with defined O-glycans by gene engineered cells," 2021, Nature Communications
  • "Discovery and Classification of Glycan-Binding Proteins," 2022, HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)
  • "Modified Sialic Acids on Mucus and Erythrocytes Inhibit Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Functions," 2020, Journal of Virology
  • "Discovery, classification, evolution and diversity of Siglecs," 2022, Molecular Aspects of Medicine
  • "Reversible O-Acetyl Migration within the Sialic Acid Side Chain and Its Influence on Protein Recognition," 2021, ACS Chemical Biology

Frequent publication venues for their work include:

  • Glycobiology
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • The FASEB Journal
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • FASEB BioAdvances

Ajit Varki has collaborated extensively with several researchers, often coauthoring publications with:

  • Xi Chen
  • Hai Yu
  • Aniruddha Sasmal
  • Nissi Varki
  • Sandra Diaz

The scientist has been recognized through awards such as the Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005 and membership in the Association of American Physicians.

Best Publications

  • Biological roles of oligosaccharides: all of the theories are correct

    Ajit Varki

  • Essentials of Glycobiology [Internet]

    Ajit Varki;Richard D Cummings;Jeffrey D Esko;Pamela Stanley

  • Essentials of Glycobiology

    Ajit Varki;Richard D Cummings;Jeffrey D Esko;Hudson H Freeze

  • Siglecs and their roles in the immune system

    Paul R. Crocker;James C. Paulson;Ajit Varki

  • Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome

    Tarjei S. Mikkelsen;LaDeana W. Hillier

  • Biological Roles of Glycans

    Ajit Varki

  • Chemical Diversity in the Sialic Acids and Related α-Keto Acids: An Evolutionary Perspective

    Takashi Angata;Ajit Varki

  • Selectin ligands

    A Varki

  • Human embryonic stem cells express an immunogenic nonhuman sialic acid

    Maria J Martin;Alysson Muotri;Fred Gage;Ajit Varki

  • Intra- and interspecific variation in primate gene expression patterns

    Wolfgang Enard;Philipp Khaitovich;Joachim Klose;Sebastian Zöllner

  • Sialic acids in human health and disease

    Ajit Varki

  • Symbol Nomenclature for Graphical Representations of Glycans.

    Ajit Varki;Richard D. Cummings;Markus Aebi;Nicole H. Packer

  • Glycan-based interactions involving vertebrate sialic-acid-recognizing proteins

    Ajit Varki

  • Heparin and cancer revisited: Mechanistic connections involving platelets, P-selectin, carcinoma mucins, and tumor metastasis

    Lubor Borsig;Richard Wong;James Feramisco;David R. Nadeau

  • Diversity in the sialic acids

    Ajit Varki

  • Trousseau's syndrome : Multiple definitions and multiple mechanisms

    Ajit Varki

  • A mutation in human CMP-sialic acid hydroxylase occurred after the Homo-Pan divergence

    Hsun Hua Chou;Hiromu Takematsu;Sandra Diaz;Jane Iber

  • Diversity in cell surface sialic acid presentations: implications for biology and disease

    Nissi M Varki;Ajit Varki

  • Identification of a specific glycoprotein ligand for P-selectin (CD62) on myeloid cells.

    K L Moore;N L Stults;S Diaz;D F Smith

  • Human uptake and incorporation of an immunogenic nonhuman dietary sialic acid

    Pam Tangvoranuntakul;Pascal Gagneux;Sandra Diaz;Muriel Bardor

Frequent Co-Authors

Nissi M. Varki
Nissi M. Varki University of California, San Diego
Xi Chen
Xi Chen University of California, Davis
Victor Nizet
Victor Nizet University of California, San Diego
Hudson H. Freeze
Hudson H. Freeze Discovery Institute
Hai Yu
Hai Yu University of California, Davis
Jeffrey D. Esko
Jeffrey D. Esko University of California, San Diego
Gerald W. Hart
Gerald W. Hart University of Georgia
Richard D. Cummings
Richard D. Cummings Harvard Medical School
Pamela Stanley
Pamela Stanley Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Stuart Kornfeld
Stuart Kornfeld Washington University in St. Louis

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