World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Medicine
UK
2026

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Best Scientists

D-Index
165
Citations
109808
World Ranking
1038
National Ranking
103

Medicine

D-Index
166
Citations
112459
World Ranking
604
National Ranking
73

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Medicine in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Medicine in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2016 - Member of the Royal Irish Academy
  • 2013 - Baly Medal, Royal College of Physicians of London
  • 2011 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2003 - Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians

Overview

Stephen O'Rahilly is affiliated with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and specializes in medicine, with a significant focus on biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. Their work encompasses primary fields such as medicine and biochemistry, genetics & molecular biology, with subfields including physiology, molecular biology, genetics, rheumatology, and endocrine and autonomic systems.

The scientist's research concentrates on several main topics, involving GDF15 and related biomarkers, genetic associations and epidemiology, nutrition and health in aging, regulation of appetite and obesity, adipose tissue and metabolism, RNA modifications and cancer, and biochemical analysis and sensing techniques.

Stephen O'Rahilly has contributed to numerous publications in well-regarded venues. Frequent publication outlets include bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Nature, Nature Metabolism, and Molecular Metabolism.

They have collaborated extensively with several frequent co-authors, including Sam Lockhart, John R. B. Perry, Brian Lam, Ken K. Ong, and Giles S.H. Yeo.

Notable recent papers authored or co-authored by Stephen O'Rahilly include:

  • Associations between body-mass index and COVID-19 severity in 6·9 million people in England: a prospective, community-based, cohort study, 2021, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
  • Mapping the proteo-genomic convergence of human diseases, 2021, Science
  • The energy balance model of obesity: beyond calories in, calories out, 2022, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
  • GDF15: A Hormone Conveying Somatic Distress to the Brain, 2020, Endocrine Reviews
  • Cachexia: A systemic consequence of progressive, unresolved disease, 2023, Cell

Stephen O'Rahilly's work has been recognized by various honors and memberships, including:

  • Member of the Royal Irish Academy (2016)
  • Baly Medal, Royal College of Physicians of London (2013)
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2011)
  • Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom (2003)
  • Member of the Association of American Physicians
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

Best Publications

  • Congenital leptin deficiency is associated with severe early-onset obesity in humans

    C T Montague;I S Farooqi;J P Whitehead;M A Soos

  • Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index

    Elizabeth K. Speliotes;Elizabeth K. Speliotes;Cristen J. Willer;Sonja I. Berndt;Keri L. Monda

  • The GPR54 Gene as a Regulator of Puberty

    Stephanie B. Seminara;Sophie Messager;Emmanouella E. Chatzidaki;Rosemary R. Thresher

  • Effects of recombinant leptin therapy in a child with congenital leptin deficiency.

    I S Farooqi;S A Jebb;G Langmack;E Lawrence

  • Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation

    Cristen J. Willer;Elizabeth K. Speliotes;Elizabeth K. Speliotes;Ruth J. F. Loos;Shengxu Li

  • Clinical spectrum of obesity and mutations in the melanocortin 4 receptor gene.

    I. Sadaf Farooqi;Julia M. Keogh;Giles S.H. Yeo;Emma J. Lank

  • Beneficial effects of leptin on obesity, T cell hyporesponsiveness, and neuroendocrine/metabolic dysfunction of human congenital leptin deficiency

    I. Sadaf Farooqi;Giuseppe Matarese;Graham M. Lord;Julia M. Keogh

  • The Obesity-Associated FTO Gene Encodes a 2-Oxoglutarate–Dependent Nucleic Acid Demethylase

    Thomas Gerken;Christophe A. Girard;Yi-Chun Loraine Tung;Celia J. Webby

  • Dominant negative mutations in human PPARγ associated with severe insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and hypertension

    I. Barroso;M. Gurnell;V. E. F. Crowley;M. Agostini

  • A frameshift mutation in MC4R associated with dominantly inherited human obesity

    G S Yeo;I S Farooqi;S Aminian;D J Halsall

  • Obesity and impaired prohormone processing associated with mutations in the human prohormone convertase 1 gene

    Robert S. Jackson;John W.M. Creemers;Shinya Ohagi;Marie-Laure Raffin-Sanson

  • The genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes

    Christian Fuchsberger;Christian Fuchsberger;Jason A. Flannick;Jason A. Flannick;Tanya M. Teslovich;Anubha Mahajan

  • International Union of Pharmacology. LXI. Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors

    Liliane Michalik;Johan Auwerx;Joel P. Berger;V. Krishna Chatterjee

  • Genetics of body-weight regulation

    Barsh Gs;Farooqi Is;O'Rahilly S

  • Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index

    E. K. Speliotes;C. J. Willer;S. I. Berndt;K. L. Monda

  • Resistin / Fizz3 Expression in Relation to Obesity and Peroxisome Proliferator - Activated Receptor-γ Action in Humans

    David B. Savage;Ciaran P. Sewter;Ellen S. Klenk;David G. Segal

  • PPARγ and human metabolic disease

    Robert K. Semple;V. Krishna K. Chatterjee;Stephen O’Rahilly

  • The perils of portliness: causes and consequences of visceral adiposity.

    C T Montague;S O'Rahilly

  • TAC3 and TACR3 mutations in familial hypogonadotropic hypogonadism reveal a key role for Neurokinin B in the central control of reproduction

    A Kemal Topaloglu;Frank Reimann;Metin Guclu;Ayse Serap Yalin

  • The UK10K project identifies rare variants in health and disease

    Klaudia Walter;Josine L. Min;Jie Huang;Lucy Crooks

Frequent Co-Authors

Inês Barroso
Inês Barroso University of Exeter
I. Sadaf Farooqi
I. Sadaf Farooqi University of Cambridge
Nicholas J. Wareham
Nicholas J. Wareham University of Cambridge
Robert K. Semple
Robert K. Semple University of Edinburgh
Jian'an Luan
Jian'an Luan University of Cambridge
Antonio Vidal-Puig
Antonio Vidal-Puig University of Cambridge
Paul W. Franks
Paul W. Franks Lund University
Philippe Froguel
Philippe Froguel Imperial College London
Ruth J. F. Loos
Ruth J. F. Loos University of Copenhagen

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