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D-Index & Metrics

Genetics

D-Index
53
Citations
13457
World Ranking
3713
National Ranking
1604

Joseph W. Thornton publication distribution in Genetics in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Genetics in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Joseph W. Thornton sits on this spectrum.

45–54 publications: 6 scientists 55–64 publications: 10 scientists 65–74 publications: 35 scientists 75–84 publications: 84 scientists 85–94 publications: 102 scientists 95–104 publications: 151 scientists 105–114 publications: 175 scientists 115–124 publications: 203 scientists 125–134 publications: 217 scientists 135–144 publications: 205 scientists 145–154 publications: 193 scientists 155–164 publications: 188 scientists 165–174 publications: 170 scientists 175–184 publications: 178 scientists 185–194 publications: 164 scientists 195–204 publications: 173 scientists 205–214 publications: 159 scientists 215–224 publications: 134 scientists 225–234 publications: 143 scientists 235–244 publications: 105 scientists 245–254 publications: 114 scientists 255–264 publications: 92 scientists 265–274 publications: 88 scientists 275–284 publications: 87 scientists 285–294 publications: 80 scientists 295–304 publications: 62 scientists 305–314 publications: 75 scientists 315–324 publications: 67 scientists 325–334 publications: 60 scientists 335–344 publications: 52 scientists 345–354 publications: 40 scientists 355–364 publications: 48 scientists 365–374 publications: 47 scientists 375–384 publications: 46 scientists 385–394 publications: 31 scientists 395–404 publications: 27 scientists 405–414 publications: 40 scientists 415–424 publications: 30 scientists 425–434 publications: 43 scientists 435–444 publications: 29 scientists 445–454 publications: 14 scientists 455–464 publications: 28 scientists 465–474 publications: 21 scientists 475–484 publications: 21 scientists 485–494 publications: 22 scientists 495–504 publications: 17 scientists 505–514 publications: 12 scientists 515–524 publications: 11 scientists 525–534 publications: 8 scientists 535–544 publications: 8 scientists 545–554 publications: 14 scientists 555–564 publications: 4 scientists 565–574 publications: 11 scientists 575–584 publications: 5 scientists 585–594 publications: 11 scientists 595–604 publications: 12 scientists 605–614 publications: 7 scientists 615–624 publications: 6 scientists 625–634 publications: 10 scientists 635–644 publications: 9 scientists 645–654 publications: 10 scientists 655–664 publications: 6 scientists 665–674 publications: 6 scientists 675–684 publications: 6 scientists 685–694 publications: 4 scientists 695–702 publications: 6 scientists 703+ publications: 100 scientists
45 publications 703+

This scientist: 88 publications — 4th percentile

4% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 703 publications or more.

Joseph W. Thornton D-index placement in Genetics in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Genetics scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Joseph W. Thornton sits on this spectrum.

40–41 D-Index: 24 scientists 42–43 D-Index: 52 scientists 44–45 D-Index: 84 scientists 46–47 D-Index: 112 scientists 48–49 D-Index: 118 scientists 50–51 D-Index: 141 scientists 52–53 D-Index: 143 scientists 54–55 D-Index: 145 scientists 56–57 D-Index: 179 scientists 58–59 D-Index: 162 scientists 60–61 D-Index: 175 scientists 62–63 D-Index: 191 scientists 64–65 D-Index: 172 scientists 66–67 D-Index: 184 scientists 68–69 D-Index: 164 scientists 70–71 D-Index: 158 scientists 72–73 D-Index: 150 scientists 74–75 D-Index: 136 scientists 76–77 D-Index: 127 scientists 78–79 D-Index: 127 scientists 80–81 D-Index: 111 scientists 82–83 D-Index: 110 scientists 84–85 D-Index: 110 scientists 86–87 D-Index: 84 scientists 88–89 D-Index: 102 scientists 90–91 D-Index: 66 scientists 92–93 D-Index: 72 scientists 94–95 D-Index: 70 scientists 96–97 D-Index: 54 scientists 98–99 D-Index: 60 scientists 100–101 D-Index: 49 scientists 102–103 D-Index: 55 scientists 104–105 D-Index: 45 scientists 106–107 D-Index: 42 scientists 108–109 D-Index: 28 scientists 110–111 D-Index: 39 scientists 112–113 D-Index: 25 scientists 114–115 D-Index: 31 scientists 116–117 D-Index: 29 scientists 118–119 D-Index: 34 scientists 120–121 D-Index: 29 scientists 122–123 D-Index: 29 scientists 124–125 D-Index: 18 scientists 126–127 D-Index: 27 scientists 128–129 D-Index: 22 scientists 130–131 D-Index: 16 scientists 132–133 D-Index: 11 scientists 134–135 D-Index: 17 scientists 136–137 D-Index: 12 scientists 138–139 D-Index: 21 scientists 140–141 D-Index: 4 scientists 142–143 D-Index: 9 scientists 144–145 D-Index: 14 scientists 146–147 D-Index: 6 scientists 148–149 D-Index: 10 scientists 150–151 D-Index: 7 scientists 152–153 D-Index: 9 scientists 154–155 D-Index: 8 scientists 156–157 D-Index: 8 scientists 158–159 D-Index: 9 scientists 160+ D-Index: 96 scientists
40 D-Index 160+

This scientist: 53 D-Index — 16th percentile

16% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 160 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2014 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
  • 2006 - Fellow of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Overview

Joseph W. Thornton is affiliated with the University of Chicago in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, with a significant concentration on Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Cell Biology as key subfields.

The scientist's main topics of study include:

  • Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
  • RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • Protein Structure and Dynamics
  • Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
  • Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
  • Genetic diversity and population structure
  • Hemoglobin structure and function

Joseph W. Thornton has published numerous papers in notable venues, including:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • JAMA Ophthalmology
  • JAMA Pediatrics
  • Nature
  • eLife

Notable recent publications include:

  • "Origin of complexity in haemoglobin evolution," 2020, Nature
  • "A hydrophobic ratchet entrenches molecular complexes," 2020, Nature
  • "Epistatic drift causes gradual decay of predictability in protein evolution," 2022, Science
  • "Contingency and chance erase necessity in the experimental evolution of ancestral proteins," 2021, eLife
  • "The simplicity of protein sequence-function relationships," 2024, Nature Communications

This researcher frequently collaborates with the following coauthors:

  • Annette Flanagin
  • Tracy Frey
  • Sara Billings
  • Juliet Orellana
  • Paul Ruich

Throughout their career, Joseph W. Thornton has been recognized with awards such as:

  • Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, 2014
  • Fellow of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2006

Best Publications

  • Resurrecting the Ancestral Steroid Receptor: Ancient Origin of Estrogen Signaling

    Joseph W. Thornton;Joseph W. Thornton;Eleanor Need;Eleanor Need;David P Crews;David P Crews

  • Evolution of vertebrate steroid receptors from an ancestral estrogen receptor by ligand exploitation and serial genome expansions

    Joseph W. Thornton

  • Evolution of Hormone-Receptor Complexity by Molecular Exploitation

    Jamie T. Bridgham;Sean M. Carroll;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Performance of maximum parsimony and likelihood phylogenetics when evolution is heterogeneous

    Bryan Kolaczkowski;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Identification of a third distinct estrogen receptor and reclassification of estrogen receptors in teleosts.

    Mary Beth Hawkins;Joseph W. Thornton;David P Crews;James K. Skipper

  • Epistasis in protein evolution

    Tyler N. Starr;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Crystal structure of an ancient protein: evolution by conformational epistasis.

    Eric A. Ortlund;Jamie T. Bridgham;Matthew R. Redinbo;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Structural analyses reveal phosphatidyl inositols as ligands for the NR5 orphan receptors SF-1 and LRH-1.

    Irina N. Krylova;Elena P. Sablin;Jamie Moore;Robert X. Xu

  • An epistatic ratchet constrains the direction of glucocorticoid receptor evolution

    Jamie T. Bridgham;Eric A. Ortlund;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Resurrecting ancient genes: experimental analysis of extinct molecules

    Joseph W. Thornton

  • Mechanistic approaches to the study of evolution: The functional synthesis

    Antony M. Dean;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Evolutionary biochemistry: revealing the historical and physical causes of protein properties

    Michael J. Harms;Joseph W. Thornton;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Gene Family Evolution and Homology: Genomics Meets Phylogenetics

    Joseph W. Thornton;Rob DeSalle

  • Protein evolution by molecular tinkering: diversification of the nuclear receptor superfamily from a ligand-dependent ancestor.

    Jamie T. Bridgham;Geeta N. Eick;Claire Larroux;Kirti Deshpande

  • Analyzing protein structure and function using ancestral gene reconstruction.

    Michael J Harms;Joseph W Thornton

  • The interface of protein structure, protein biophysics, and molecular evolution.

    David A Liberles;Sarah A Teichmann;Ivet Bahar;Ugo Bastolla

  • Evolution of increased complexity in a molecular machine

    Gregory C. Finnigan;Victor Hanson-Smith;Tom H. Stevens;Joseph W. Thornton;Joseph W. Thornton;Joseph W. Thornton

  • The Octopus vulgaris estrogen receptor is a constitutive transcriptional activator: evolutionary and functional implications.

    June Keay;Jamie T. Bridgham;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Alternative evolutionary histories in the sequence space of an ancient protein

    Tyler N. Starr;Lora K. Picton;Joseph W. Thornton

  • Robustness of Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction to Phylogenetic Uncertainty

    Victor Hanson-Smith;Bryan Kolaczkowski;Joseph W. Thornton;Joseph W. Thornton

Frequent Co-Authors

Rob DeSalle
Rob DeSalle American Museum of Natural History
Martha L. Bulyk
Martha L. Bulyk Harvard University
Matthew W. Hahn
Matthew W. Hahn Indiana University
Taisen Iguchi
Taisen Iguchi National Institute for Basic Biology
Nicole King
Nicole King University of California, Berkeley
David Crews
David Crews The University of Texas at Austin
Jay F. Storz
Jay F. Storz University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Brian F. Volkman
Brian F. Volkman Medical College of Wisconsin
Kai Zinn
Kai Zinn California Institute of Technology
Justin L. P. Benesch
Justin L. P. Benesch University of Oxford

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