World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Best Scientists
2025
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Best Female Scientists
2025

D-Index & Metrics

Best Female Scientists

D-Index
190
Citations
179283
World Ranking
28
National Ranking
21

Best Scientists

D-Index
190
Citations
179283
World Ranking
417
National Ranking
278

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
194
Citations
187174
World Ranking
40
National Ranking
33

Medicine

D-Index
193
Citations
186769
World Ranking
229
National Ranking
153

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Best Female Scientists Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2010 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2007 - E.B. Wilson Medal, American Society for Cell Biology
  • 2002 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
  • 1996 - Excellence in Science Award, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
  • 1992 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1985 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Overview

Zena Werb was affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco in the United States. Their research primarily focused on Medicine and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, with a significant emphasis on Oncology, Molecular Biology, and Cancer Research as subfields.

Throughout their career, Werb contributed to various main topics including:

  • Cancer Cells and Metastasis
  • Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
  • Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
  • Immune cells in cancer
  • Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Epigenetics and DNA Methylation

Their recent papers spanned from 2020 to 2022, covering diverse aspects of cancer biology and tumor microenvironment. Notable publications included:

  • A framework for advancing our understanding of cancer-associated fibroblasts (2020), published in Nature Reviews. Cancer
  • Concepts of extracellular matrix remodelling in tumour progression and metastasis (2020), published in Nature Communications
  • Transcriptional diversity and bioenergetic shift in human breast cancer metastasis revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing (2020), published in Nature Cell Biology
  • Tumour-associated macrophages drive stromal cell-dependent collagen crosslinking and stiffening to promote breast cancer aggression (2020), published in Nature Materials
  • Cellular architecture of human brain metastases (2022), published in Cell

Werb frequently collaborated with a range of researchers, including:

  • Juliane Winkler
  • Hugo González
  • Lisa M. Coussens
  • Ankitha Nanjaraj
  • Eric B. Berens

The scientist published regularly in several academic venues, with the most frequent being:

  • Cancer Research
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • UNC Libraries
  • Nature Communications
  • Journal of Clinical Investigation

Honors awarded to Werb included:

  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2010)
  • E.B. Wilson Medal, American Society for Cell Biology (2007)
  • Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2002)
  • Excellence in Science Award, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (1996)
  • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1992)
  • Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1985)

Best Publications

  • Inflammation and cancer

    Lisa M. Coussens;Zena Werb

  • New functions for the matrix metalloproteinases in cancer progression

    Mikala Egeblad;Zena Werb

  • Matrix Metalloproteinases: Regulators of the Tumor Microenvironment

    Kai Kessenbrock;Vicki Plaks;Zena Werb

  • How Matrix Metalloproteinases Regulate Cell Behavior

    Mark D. Sternlicht;Zena Werb

  • Remodelling the extracellular matrix in development and disease.

    Caroline Bonnans;Jonathan Chou;Zena Werb

  • A framework for advancing our understanding of cancer-associated fibroblasts

    Erik Sahai;Igor Astsaturov;Edna Cukierman;David G. DeNardo

  • Matrix metalloproteinase-9 triggers the angiogenic switch during carcinogenesis

    Gabriele Bergers;Rolf Brekken;Gerald McMahon;Thiennu H. Vu

  • Matrix metalloproteinases and the regulation of tissue remodelling

    Andrea Page-McCaw;Andrew J. Ewald;Zena Werb

  • The extracellular matrix: A dynamic niche in cancer progression

    Pengfei Lu;Valerie M. Weaver;Zena Werb

  • VEGF couples hypertrophic cartilage remodeling, ossification and angiogenesis during endochondral bone formation.

    Hans-Peter Gerber;Thiennu H. Vu;Anne M. Ryan;Joe Kowalski

  • Lifeact: a versatile marker to visualize F-actin

    Julia Riedl;Alvaro H. Crevenna;Kai Kessenbrock;Jerry Haochen Yu

  • Recruitment of Stem and Progenitor Cells from the Bone Marrow Niche Requires MMP-9 Mediated Release of Kit-Ligand

    Beate Heissig;Koichi Hattori;Sergio Dias;Matthias Friedrich

  • Extracellular Matrix Degradation and Remodeling in Development and Disease

    Pengfei Lu;Ken Takai;Valerie M. Weaver;Zena Werb

  • MMP-9/Gelatinase B Is a Key Regulator of Growth Plate Angiogenesis and Apoptosis of Hypertrophic Chondrocytes

    Thiennu H Vu;J.Michael Shipley;Gabriele Bergers;Joel E Berger

  • Netting neutrophils in autoimmune small-vessel vasculitis.

    Kai Kessenbrock;Markus Krumbholz;Ulf Schönermarck;Walter Back

  • Roles of the immune system in cancer: from tumor initiation to metastatic progression.

    Hugo Gonzalez;Catharina Hagerling;Zena Werb

  • ECM and cell surface proteolysis: regulating cellular ecology.

    Zena Werb

  • Implantation and the placenta: key pieces of the development puzzle

    James C. Cross;Zena Werb;Susan J. Fisher

  • Matrix metalloproteinases: effectors of development and normal physiology

    Thiennu H. Vu;Zena Werb

  • MMP-9 supplied by bone marrow-derived cells contributes to skin carcinogenesis

    Lisa M Coussens;Christopher L Tinkle;Douglas Hanahan;Zena Werb

Frequent Co-Authors

Andrew J. Ewald
Andrew J. Ewald Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Mikala Egeblad
Mikala Egeblad Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Mina J. Bissell
Mina J. Bissell Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lisa M. Coussens
Lisa M. Coussens Oregon Health & Science University
Leif R. Lund
Leif R. Lund University of Copenhagen
Valerie M. Weaver
Valerie M. Weaver University of California, San Francisco
Farrah Kheradmand
Farrah Kheradmand Baylor College of Medicine
Caroline H. Damsky
Caroline H. Damsky University of California, San Francisco
Matthew F. Krummel
Matthew F. Krummel University of California, San Francisco
Shahin Rafii
Shahin Rafii Cornell University

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Best Scientists Citing Zena Werb