World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Piet Herdewijn

Piet Herdewijn

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Chemistry
Belgium
2025
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Biology and Biochemistry
Belgium
2023

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
89
Citations
32078
World Ranking
2531
National Ranking
39

Chemistry

D-Index
89
Citations
32026
World Ranking
2144
National Ranking
25

Piet Herdewijn publication distribution in Chemistry in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Chemistry in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Piet Herdewijn sits on this spectrum.

61–80 publications: 66 scientists 81–100 publications: 302 scientists 101–120 publications: 623 scientists 121–140 publications: 918 scientists 141–160 publications: 1,218 scientists 161–180 publications: 1,350 scientists 181–200 publications: 1,344 scientists 201–220 publications: 1,281 scientists 221–240 publications: 1,216 scientists 241–260 publications: 1,100 scientists 261–280 publications: 979 scientists 281–300 publications: 939 scientists 301–320 publications: 764 scientists 321–340 publications: 643 scientists 341–360 publications: 628 scientists 361–380 publications: 522 scientists 381–400 publications: 459 scientists 401–420 publications: 397 scientists 421–440 publications: 327 scientists 441–460 publications: 270 scientists 461–480 publications: 265 scientists 481–500 publications: 252 scientists 501–520 publications: 201 scientists 521–540 publications: 185 scientists 541–560 publications: 148 scientists 561–580 publications: 148 scientists 581–600 publications: 132 scientists 601–620 publications: 114 scientists 621–640 publications: 104 scientists 641–660 publications: 91 scientists 661–680 publications: 92 scientists 681–700 publications: 73 scientists 701–720 publications: 57 scientists 721–740 publications: 54 scientists 741–760 publications: 67 scientists 761–780 publications: 45 scientists 781–800 publications: 46 scientists 801–820 publications: 39 scientists 821–840 publications: 32 scientists 841–860 publications: 36 scientists 861–880 publications: 29 scientists 881–900 publications: 26 scientists 901–920 publications: 24 scientists 921–940 publications: 14 scientists 941–960 publications: 23 scientists 961–980 publications: 28 scientists 981–1,000 publications: 15 scientists 1,001–1,020 publications: 29 scientists 1,021–1,040 publications: 12 scientists 1,041–1,060 publications: 19 scientists 1,061–1,080 publications: 12 scientists 1,081–1,100 publications: 6 scientists 1,101–1,120 publications: 8 scientists 1,121–1,140 publications: 12 scientists 1,141–1,160 publications: 5 scientists 1,161–1,180 publications: 6 scientists 1,181–1,200 publications: 14 scientists 1,201–1,220 publications: 7 scientists 1,221–1,240 publications: 2 scientists 1,241–1,260 publications: 6 scientists 1,261–1,280 publications: 4 scientists 1,281–1,294 publications: 6 scientists 1,295+ publications: 100 scientists
61 publications 1,295+

This scientist: 1,043 publications — 99th percentile

99% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 1,295 publications or more.

Piet Herdewijn D-index placement in Chemistry in 2026

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

40–41 D-Index: 289 scientists 42–43 D-Index: 612 scientists 44–45 D-Index: 808 scientists 46–47 D-Index: 776 scientists 48–49 D-Index: 835 scientists 50–51 D-Index: 861 scientists 52–53 D-Index: 872 scientists 54–55 D-Index: 933 scientists 56–57 D-Index: 1,051 scientists 58–59 D-Index: 930 scientists 60–61 D-Index: 882 scientists 62–63 D-Index: 834 scientists 64–65 D-Index: 731 scientists 66–67 D-Index: 775 scientists 68–69 D-Index: 683 scientists 70–71 D-Index: 646 scientists 72–73 D-Index: 561 scientists 74–75 D-Index: 501 scientists 76–77 D-Index: 437 scientists 78–79 D-Index: 388 scientists 80–81 D-Index: 354 scientists 82–83 D-Index: 292 scientists 84–85 D-Index: 275 scientists 86–87 D-Index: 254 scientists 88–89 D-Index: 235 scientists 90–91 D-Index: 185 scientists 92–93 D-Index: 192 scientists 94–95 D-Index: 155 scientists 96–97 D-Index: 163 scientists 98–99 D-Index: 125 scientists 100–101 D-Index: 105 scientists 102–103 D-Index: 105 scientists 104–105 D-Index: 112 scientists 106–107 D-Index: 88 scientists 108–109 D-Index: 68 scientists 110–111 D-Index: 69 scientists 112–113 D-Index: 65 scientists 114–115 D-Index: 79 scientists 116–117 D-Index: 61 scientists 118–119 D-Index: 44 scientists 120–121 D-Index: 37 scientists 122–123 D-Index: 40 scientists 124–125 D-Index: 33 scientists 126–127 D-Index: 26 scientists 128–129 D-Index: 34 scientists 130–131 D-Index: 35 scientists 132–133 D-Index: 25 scientists 134–135 D-Index: 27 scientists 136–137 D-Index: 17 scientists 138–139 D-Index: 16 scientists 140–141 D-Index: 20 scientists 142–143 D-Index: 20 scientists 144–145 D-Index: 15 scientists 146–147 D-Index: 9 scientists 148–149 D-Index: 9 scientists 150–151 D-Index: 16 scientists 152–153 D-Index: 11 scientists 154–155 D-Index: 9 scientists 156–157 D-Index: 3 scientists 158 D-Index: 3 scientists 159+ D-Index: 98 scientists
40 D-Index 159+

This scientist: 89 D-Index — 88th percentile

88% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 159 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Chemistry in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Chemistry in Belgium Leader Award

Overview

Piet Herdewijn is affiliated with KU Leuven in Belgium and has contributed extensively to the fields of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, with significant work also intersecting medicine. Their research portfolio includes over a hundred publications, reflecting a sustained focus on molecular biology and related subfields such as infectious diseases, organic chemistry, epidemiology, and virology.

Their main topics of study encompass:

  • DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
  • HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment
  • Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
  • RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • HIV Research and Treatment
  • Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
  • Biochemical and Molecular Research

Frequently publishing in scientific venues, Herdewijn has multiple articles in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and the journal Nucleic Acids Research. Other common publication venues include UNC Libraries, ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, and the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Several coauthors have frequently collaborated with Herdewijn, including Elisabetta Groaz, Steven De Jonghe, Mikhail Abramov, Eveline Lescrinier, and Dominique Schols.

Selected recent papers illustrate the range of Herdewijn's research outputs:

  • Noncanonical DNA polymerization by aminoadenine-based siphoviruses, 2021, Science
  • A two-residue nascent-strand steric gate controls synthesis of 2'-O-methyl- and 2'-O-(2-methoxyethyl)-RNA, 2022, Nature Chemistry
  • Chimeric siRNAs with chemically modified pentofuranose and hexopyranose nucleotides: altritol-nucleotide (ANA) containing GalNAc-siRNA conjugates: in vitro and in vivo RNAi activity and resistance to 5'-exonuclease, 2020, Nucleic Acids Research
  • Functional Comparison of Laboratory-Evolved XNA Polymerases for Synthetic Biology, 2021, ACS Synthetic Biology
  • An Overview of Marketed Nucleoside and Nucleotide Analogs, 2022, Current Protocols

Best Publications

  • Rapid and automated tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay for the detection of anti-HIV compounds

    Rudi Pauwels;Jan Balzarini;Masanori Baba;Robert Snoeck

  • Synthetic genetic polymers capable of heredity and evolution

    Vitor B. Pinheiro;Alexander I. Taylor;Christopher Cozens;Mikhail Abramov

  • Both 2′,3′-dideoxythymidine and its 2′,3′-unsaturated derivative (2′,3′-dideoxythymidinene) are potent and selective inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus replication in vitro

    Masanori Baba;Rudi Pauwels;Piet Herdewijn;Erik De Clercq

  • Differential patterns of intracellular metabolism of 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine and 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine, two potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus compounds.

    J Balzarini;P Herdewijn;E De Clercq

  • 3'-substituted 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside analogues as potential anti-HIV (HTLV-III/LAV) agents.

    P Herdewijn;J Balzarini;E De Clercq;R Pauwels

  • A large-scale chemical modification screen identifies design rules to generate siRNAs with high activity, high stability and low toxicity

    Jesper B. Bramsen;Maria B. Laursen;Anne F. Nielsen;Thomas B. Hansen

  • Modifications in Lignin and Accumulation of Phenolic Glucosides in Poplar Xylem upon Down-regulation of Caffeoyl-Coenzyme A O-Methyltransferase, an Enzyme Involved in Lignin Biosynthesis

    Hugo Meyermans;Kris Morreel;Catherine Lapierre;Brigitte Pollet

  • The anti-HTLV-III (anti-HIV) and cytotoxic activity of 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxyribonucleosides: a comparison with their parental 2',3'-dideoxyribonucleosides.

    J Balzarini;G J Kang;M Dalal;P Herdewijn

  • Catalysts from synthetic genetic polymers

    Alexander I. Taylor;Vitor B. Pinheiro;Vitor B. Pinheiro;Matthew J. Smola;Alexey S. Morgunov

  • Intracellular metabolism and mechanism of anti-retrovirus action of 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine, a potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus compound.

    J. Balzarini;Zhang Hao;P. Herdewijn;D. G. Johns

  • Marked in vivo antiretrovirus activity of 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine, a selective anti-human immunodeficiency virus agent.

    J Balzarini;L Naesens;P Herdewijn;I Rosenberg

  • Sensitive and rapid assay on MT-4 cells for detection of antiviral compounds against the AIDS virus.

    Rudi Pauwels;Erik De Clercq;Jan Desmyter;Jan Balzarini

  • The in vitro and in vivo anti-retrovirus activity, and intracellular metabolism of 3′-azido-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine and 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine are highly dependent on the cell species

    Jan Balzarini;Rudi Pauwels;Masanori Baba;Piet Herdewijn

  • Anti-retrovirus activity of 3′-fluoro- and 3′-azido-substituted pyrimidine 2′,3′-dideoxynucleoside analogues

    Jan Balzarini;Masanori Baba;Rudi Pauwels;Piet Herdewijn

  • Mutations in the chikungunya virus non-structural proteins cause resistance to favipiravir (T-705), a broad-spectrum antiviral

    Leen Delang;Nidya Segura Guerrero;Ali Tas;Gilles Quérat

  • Potent and selective anti-HTLV-III/LAV activity of 2',3'-dideoxycytidinene, the 2',3'-unsaturated derivative of 2',3'-dideoxycytidine.

    Jan Balzarini;Rudi Pauwels;Piet Herdewijn;Erik De Clercq

  • Anticancer kinase inhibitors impair intracellular viral trafficking and exert broad-spectrum antiviral effects

    Elena Bekerman;Gregory Neveu;Ana Shulla;Jennifer Brannan

  • α-l-ribo-Configured Locked Nucleic Acid (α-L-LNA): Synthesis and Properties

    Mads D. Sørensen;Lisbet Kvaernø;Torsten Bryld;Anders E. Hakansson

  • Ribavirin antagonizes inhibitory effects of pyrimidine 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides but enhances inhibitory effects of purine 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides on replication of human immunodeficiency virus in vitro.

    M Baba;R Pauwels;J Balzarini;P Herdewijn

  • Chemical Evolution of a Bacterium’s Genome

    Philippe Marlière;Julien Patrouix;Volker Döring;Piet Herdewijn

  • Strategies in the Design of Antiviral Drugs

    Erik De Clercq;Piet Herdewijn

Frequent Co-Authors

Erik De Clercq
Erik De Clercq Rega Institute for Medical Research
Jan Balzarini
Jan Balzarini KU Leuven
Christophe Pannecouque
Christophe Pannecouque Rega Institute for Medical Research
Johan Neyts
Johan Neyts Rega Institute for Medical Research
Robert Snoeck
Robert Snoeck KU Leuven
Denis De Keukeleire
Denis De Keukeleire Ghent University
Jozef Anné
Jozef Anné KU Leuven

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