2026 Leonard I. Zon: Molecular Biology Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Molecular Biology	156	72	63	46	41	718	93301
Medicine	159	813	745	459	410	769	96755

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
2008 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2005 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
1999 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
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

Leonard I. Zon is affiliated with Harvard University in the United States. Their research spans multiple fields, primarily within biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, with significant contributions to medicine.

Their work covers several subfields, including molecular biology, immunology, cell biology, hematology, and oncology. The main topics of their research include zebrafish biomedical research applications, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, RNA modifications and cancer, epigenetics and DNA methylation, genomics and chromatin dynamics, immune cells in cancer, and CRISPR and genetic engineering.

Frequent publication venues for Leonard I. Zon include bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Blood, Experimental Hematology, Science, and Developmental Cell.

Frequent co-authors of Leonard I. Zon consist of:

Song Yang
Yi Zhou
Serine Avagyan
Avik Choudhuri
George Q. Daley

Notable recent papers include:

"Zebrafish disease models in drug discovery: from preclinical modelling to clinical trials" (2021, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery)
"Hyperactivation of sympathetic nerves drives depletion of melanocyte stem cells" (2020, Nature)
"Zebrafish patient avatars in cancer biology and precision cancer therapy" (2020, Nature Reviews Cancer)
"Transcription factors interact with RNA to regulate genes" (2023, Molecular Cell)
"Melanoma models for the next generation of therapies" (2021, Cancer Cell)

Leonard I. Zon has received recognition in the form of several awards and memberships, including:

Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2008)
Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2005)
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1999)
Member of the Association of American Physicians

Best Publications

The zebrafish reference genome sequence and its relationship to the human genome.

Kerstin Howe;Matthew D. Clark;Carlos F. Torroja;Carlos F. Torroja;James Torrance

4943
Citations
Hematopoiesis: an evolving paradigm for stem cell biology.

Stuart H. Orkin;Leonard I. Zon;Leonard I. Zon

3047
Citations
Requirement for ceramide-initiated SAPK/JNK signalling in stress-induced apoptosis.

Marcel Verheij;Marcel Verheij;Ron Bose;Xin Hua Lin;Bei Yao

2263
Citations
Positional cloning of zebrafish ferroportin1 identifies a conserved vertebrate iron exporter

Adriana Donovan;Alison Brownlie;Alison Brownlie;Yi Zhou;Jennifer Shepard

2070
Citations
In vivo drug discovery in the zebrafish

Leonard I. Zon;Randall T. Peterson;Randall T. Peterson

1674
Citations
Transparent Adult Zebrafish as a Tool for In Vivo Transplantation Analysis

Richard Mark White;Anna Sessa;Christopher Burke;Teresa Bowman

1425
Citations
The iron exporter ferroportin/Slc40a1 is essential for iron homeostasis

Adriana Donovan;Adriana Donovan;Christine A. Lima;Christine A. Lima;Jack L. Pinkus;Geraldine S. Pinkus

1380
Citations
Prostaglandin E2 regulates vertebrate haematopoietic stem cell homeostasis

Trista E. North;Wolfram Goessling;Wolfram Goessling;Carl R. Walkley;Claudia Lengerke

1250
Citations
Role of SAPK/ERK kinase-1 in the stress-activated pathway regulating transcription factor c-Jun.

Sánchez I;Hughes Rt;Mayer Bj;Mayer Bj;Yee K

1215
Citations
Cloning of cDNA for the major DNA-binding protein of the erythroid lineage through expression in mammalian cells

Shih-Feng Tsai;David I. K. Martin;David I. K. Martin;Leonard I. Zon;Leonard I. Zon;Alan D. D'Andrea;Alan D. D'Andrea

1069
Citations
Vertebrate genome evolution and the zebrafish gene map.

John H. Postlethwait;Yi-Lin Yan;Michael A. Gates;Sally Horne

1014
Citations
Zebrafish: a model system for the study of human disease.

Kimberly Dooley;Leonard I Zon;Leonard I Zon

939
Citations
The Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway Is Required for the Development of Leukemia Stem Cells in AML

Yingzi Wang;Andrei Krivtsov;Amit U. Sinha;Trista Elizabeth North;Trista Elizabeth North

920
Citations
Activation of stress-activated protein kinase by MEKK1 phosphorylation of its activator SEK1

Mlnhong Yan;Tianang Dai;Joseph C. Deak;John M. Kyriakis

894
Citations
Loss of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Is an Epigenetic Hallmark of Melanoma

Christine Guo Lian;Yufei Xu;Craig Ceol;Craig Ceol;Feizhen Wu

892
Citations
Transplantation and in vivo imaging of multilineage engraftment in zebrafish bloodless mutants

David Traver;Barry H Paw;Kenneth D Poss;W Todd Penberthy

862
Citations
Genetic interaction of PGE2 and Wnt signaling regulates developmental specification of stem cells and regeneration.

Wolfram Goessling;Trista E. North;Trista E. North;Sabine Loewer;Sabine Loewer;Allegra M. Lord;Allegra M. Lord

808
Citations
BRAF Mutations Are Sufficient to Promote Nevi Formation and Cooperate with p53 in the Genesis of Melanoma

E.Elizabeth Patton;Hans R. Widlund;Jeffery L. Kutok;Kamden R. Kopani;Kamden R. Kopani

753
Citations
The use of zebrafish to understand immunity

Nikolaus S Trede;David M Langenau;David Traver;A.Thomas Look

710
Citations
tp53 mutant zebrafish develop malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors

Stéphane Berghmans;Ryan D. Murphey;Erno Wienholds;Donna Neuberg

690
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Yi Zhou Harvard University

Barry H. Paw Brigham and Women's Hospital

George Q. Daley Boston Children's Hospital

Stuart H. Orkin Harvard University

Trista E. North Boston Children's Hospital

Wolfram Goessling Brigham and Women's Hospital

David Traver University of California, San Diego

Thorsten M. Schlaeger Boston Children's Hospital

Richard A. Young MIT

David M. Langenau Harvard University

External Links

Personal website of Leonard I. Zon

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