2026 Kenn Gerdes: Microbiology Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Microbiology	91	649	576	9	9	198	30147
Genetics	91	1039	981	10	10	182	29979

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Genetics in Denmark Leader Award
2026 - Research.com Microbiology in Denmark Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Genetics in Denmark Leader Award
2024 - Research.com Genetics in Denmark Leader Award
2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Denmark Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Genetics in Denmark Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Denmark Leader Award
2022 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Denmark Leader Award

Overview

Kenn Gerdes is affiliated with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Their research encompasses fields primarily within Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, with a significant focus also on Environmental Science. Subfields in their work include Molecular Biology, Genetics, Ecology, Molecular Medicine, and Cell Biology.

The scientist's research topics cover several areas, reflecting a broad interest in bacterial and molecular mechanisms. These topics include:

Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
RNA modifications and cancer
Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease

Kenn Gerdes has contributed to several peer-reviewed publications. Some recent papers authored or co-authored by them are:

Phylogeny Reveals Novel HipA-Homologous Kinase Families and Toxin-Antitoxin Gene Organizations, 2021, mBio
Diverse genetic contexts of HicA toxin domains propose a role in anti-phage defense, 2024, mBio
Hibernation factors directly block ribonucleases from entering the ribosome in response to starvation, 2021, Nucleic Acids Research
Type II and type IV toxin-antitoxin systems show different evolutionary patterns in the global Klebsiella pneumoniae population, 2020, Nucleic Acids Research
PasT of Escherichia coli sustains antibiotic tolerance and aerobic respiration as a bacterial homolog of mitochondrial Coq10, 2020, MicrobiologyOpen

Gerdes frequently publishes in the following venues:

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Nucleic Acids Research
mBio
eLife
MicrobiologyOpen

The scientist collaborates regularly with several co-authors. Frequent collaborators include:

Michael A. Sørensen
René L. Bærentsen
Ditlev E. Brodersen
Stine Vang Nielsen
Jeppe Lyngsø

Best Publications

Prokaryotic toxin-antitoxin stress response loci.

Kenn Gerdes;Susanne K. Christensen;Anders Løbner-Olesen

1257
Citations
Toxin–antitoxin loci are highly abundant in free-living but lost from host-associated prokaryotes

Deo Prakash Pandey;Kenn Gerdes

1101
Citations
Mechanisms of bacterial persistence during stress and antibiotic exposure.

Alexander Harms;Etienne Maisonneuve;Kenn Gerdes

953
Citations
Recent functional insights into the role of (p)ppGpp in bacterial physiology

Vasili Hauryliuk;Gemma C. Atkinson;Katsuhiko S. Murakami;Tanel Tenson

889
Citations
Unique type of plasmid maintenance function: postsegregational killing of plasmid-free cells.

Kenn Gerdes;Poul B. Rasmussen;Soren Molin

876
Citations
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Bacterial Persisters

Etienne Maisonneuve;Kenn Gerdes;Kenn Gerdes

719
Citations
Bacterial persistence by RNA endonucleases

Etienne Maisonneuve;Lana J. Shakespeare;Mikkel Girke Jørgensen;Kenn Gerdes

696
Citations
The bacterial toxin RelE displays codon-specific cleavage of mRNAs in the ribosomal A site.

Kim Pedersen;Andrey V. Zavialov;Michael Yu. Pavlov;Johan Elf

666
Citations
Toxins, Targets, and Triggers: An Overview of Toxin-Antitoxin Biology

Alexander Harms;Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen;Namiko Mitarai;Kenn Gerdes

660
Citations
Retraction Notice to: (p)ppGpp Controls Bacterial Persistence by Stochastic Induction of Toxin-Antitoxin Activity

Etienne Maisonneuve;Manuela Castro-Camargo;Kenn Gerdes

650
Citations
RelE, a global inhibitor of translation, is activated during nutritional stress

Susanne K. Christensen;Marie Mikkelsen;Kim Pedersen;Kenn Gerdes

583
Citations
Plasmid and chromosome partitioning: surprises from phylogeny.

Kenn Gerdes;Jakob Møller-Jensen;Rasmus Bugge Jensen

549
Citations
Toxin–antitoxin Loci as Stress-response-elements: ChpAK/MazF and ChpBK Cleave Translated RNAs and are Counteracted by tmRNA

Susanne K Christensen;Kim Pedersen;Flemming G Hansen;Flemming G Hansen;Kenn Gerdes

476
Citations
The morphogenetic MreBCD proteins of Escherichia coli form an essential membrane‐bound complex

Thomas Kruse;Jette Bork-Jensen;Kenn Gerdes

470
Citations
Molecular Mechanism of Bacterial Persistence by HipA

Elsa Germain;Daniel Castro-Roa;Nikolay Zenkin;Kenn Gerdes

461
Citations
Rapid induction and reversal of a bacteriostatic condition by controlled expression of toxins and antitoxins

Kim Pedersen;Susanne K. Christensen;Kenn Gerdes

460
Citations
Bacterial persistence and toxin-antitoxin loci.

Kenn Gerdes;Etienne Maisonneuve

448
Citations
Programmed cell death in bacteria: proteic plasmid stabilization systems.

Rasmus Bugge Jensen;Kenn Gerdes

446
Citations
RelE toxins from Bacteria and Archaea cleave mRNAs on translating ribosomes, which are rescued by tmRNA

Susanne K. Christensen;Kenn Gerdes

426
Citations
The Escherichia coli relBE genes belong to a new toxin–antitoxin gene family

Marie Gotfredsen;Kenn Gerdes

414
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Jan Löwe MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Remy Loris Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Nicholas R. Thomson Wellcome Sanger Institute

Hanne Ingmer University of Copenhagen

Philippe J. Sansonetti Institut Pasteur

Leopold Parts Wellcome Sanger Institute

Anders Løbner-Olesen University of Copenhagen

Boris Macek University of Tübingen

David Tollervey University of Edinburgh

David J. Sherratt University of Oxford

External Links

Personal website of Kenn Gerdes

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