2026 William Martin: Molecular Biology Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Genetics	111	519	496	35	33	328	44321
Molecular Biology	111	357	326	32	28	328	44321

Research.com Recognitions

2024 - Research.com Genetics in Germany Leader Award
2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Germany Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Genetics in Germany Leader Award
1965 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1941 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1925 - Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Overview

William Martin is affiliated with Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany. Their research primarily spans the field of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, with a strong focus on Molecular Biology. Their work also engages with subfields such as Astronomy and Astrophysics, Ecology, Genetics, and Plant Science.

Their scholarly output reflects significant contributions to several topics including:

Origins and Evolution of Life
Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
Protist diversity and phylogeny
Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction

William Martin has authored multiple papers, with selected recent publications including:

Older Than Genes: The Acetyl CoA Pathway and Origins, 2020, Frontiers in Microbiology
Brain energy rescue: an emerging therapeutic concept for neurodegenerative disorders of ageing, 2020, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
A hydrogen-dependent geochemical analogue of primordial carbon and energy metabolism, 2020, Nature Ecology & Evolution
Autocatalytic chemical networks at the origin of metabolism, 2020, Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Phylogenetic analyses with systematic taxon sampling show that mitochondria branch within Alphaproteobacteria, 2020, Nature Ecology & Evolution

The scientist has frequently published in journals such as Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, Genome Biology and Evolution, Frontiers in Microbiology, Nature Ecology & Evolution, and FEBS Journal.

Frequent collaborators in their research include Martina Preiner, Natalia Mrnjavac, Karl Kleinermanns, Harun Tüysüz, and Jessica L. E. Wimmer.

William Martin has been recognized with several fellowships, including:

Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1965)
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1941)
Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1925)

Best Publications

Endosymbiotic Gene Transfer: Organelle Genomes Forge Eukaryotic Chromosomes

Jeremy N. Timmis;Michael A. Ayliffe;Chun Y. Huang;William Martin

1779
Citations
Evolutionary analysis of Arabidopsis, cyanobacterial, and chloroplast genomes reveals plastid phylogeny and thousands of cyanobacterial genes in the nucleus.

William Martin;Tamas Rujan;Erik Richly;Andrea Hansen

1405
Citations
The energetics of genome complexity

Nick Lane;William Martin

1334
Citations
Eukaryotic evolution, changes and challenges

T. Martin Embley;William Martin

1089
Citations
Isoprenoid biosynthesis: The evolution of two ancient and distinct pathways across genomes

B. Markus Lange;Tamas Rujan;William Martin;Rodney Croteau

1070
Citations
On the origins of cells: a hypothesis for the evolutionary transitions from abiotic geochemistry to chemoautotrophic prokaryotes, and from prokaryotes to nucleated cells

William Martin;Michael J. Russell

1019
Citations
Phylogenomics of the Reproductive Parasite Wolbachia pipientis wMel: A Streamlined Genome Overrun by Mobile Genetic Elements

Martin Wu;Ling V. Sun;Jessica Vamathevan;Markus Riegler

1018
Citations
Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east

Francesco Salamini;Hakan Özkan;Andrea Brandolini;Ralf Schäfer-Pregl

1007
Citations
The physiology and habitat of the last universal common ancestor

Madeline C. Weiss;Filipa L. Sousa;Natalia Mrnjavac;Sinje Neukirchen

1001
Citations
Gene transfer to the nucleus and the evolution of chloroplasts

William Martin;Bettina Stoebe;Vadim Goremykin;Sabine Hansmann

896
Citations
Gene Transfer from Organelles to the Nucleus: How Much, What Happens, and Why?

William Martin;Reinhold G. Herrmann

888
Citations
Brain energy rescue: an emerging therapeutic concept for neurodegenerative disorders of ageing

Stephen C. Cunnane;Eugenia Trushina;Cecilie Morland;Alessandro Prigione

882
Citations
Biochemistry and Evolution of Anaerobic Energy Metabolism in Eukaryotes

Miklós Müller;Marek Mentel;Jaap J. van Hellemond;Katrin Henze

877
Citations
Reading the entrails of chickens: molecular timescales of evolution and the illusion of precision.

Dan Graur;William Martin

712
Citations
Molecular Poltergeists: Mitochondrial DNA Copies (numts) in Sequenced Nuclear Genomes

Einat Hazkani-Covo;Raymond M. Zeller;Raymond M. Zeller;William Martin

689
Citations
Endosymbiotic theories for eukaryote origin

William F. Martin;Sriram Garg;Verena Zimorski

590
Citations
Introns and the origin of nucleus–cytosol compartmentalization

William Martin;Eugene V. Koonin

576
Citations
Modular networks and cumulative impact of lateral transfer in prokaryote genome evolution

Tal Dagan;Yael Artzy-Randrup;William Martin

505
Citations
On the origin of genomes and cells within inorganic compartments

Eugene V. Koonin;William Martin

483
Citations
Evolutionary biology: Essence of mitochondria

Katrin Henze;William Martin

447
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Tal Dagan Kiel University

Sven B. Gould Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

John Allen Coventry University

Aloysius G.M. Tielens Erasmus University Rotterdam

Wei Ji Renmin University of China

Francesco Salamini Parco Tecnologico Padano

Edward W. Larsen University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Peter J. Lockhart Massey University

Uwe G. Maier Philipp University of Marburg

Benjamin Kilian Leibniz Association

External Links

Wikipedia of William Martin Personal website of William Martin

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