We appear again in Stanford’s ranking of the best researchers in the world

• Carlos Garbisu, specialist in environmental microbiology, and Ramón Juste, expert in animal health, repeat for the fourth consecutive year in the Ranking “World’s Most Influential (Top 2%) Scientists”, which also includes Inma Estévez, renowned scientist in ethology and animal welfare
• This recognition is especially meritorious considering the limited number of research personnel that NEIKER has in comparison with other entities that appear in the list

Stanford University has updated for the fourth time the list of the best researchers in the world based on the citations of their scientific publications in the Scopus portal. Once again, the prestigious American university has included in this index Dr. Carlos Garbisu, Scientific Director of NEIKER, and Dr. Ramón Juste, researcher of the Department of Animal Health, and has added Dr. Inma Estévez, researcher of the Department of Animal Production of NEIKER.

The most cited researchers in the world are part of this list, which is a huge recognition for those who are part of it. In fact, at this moment, this ranking is considered the most prestigious scientific reference document at international level to know the impact of the work developed by scientists.

The recognition therefore reflects the scientific excellence of NEIKER, especially meritorious considering the small number of researchers at NEIKER, compared to many other centers also included in the Stanford ranking, and the fact that NEIKER shares its research work with the service and transfer to the Basque primary sector in order to provide added value and improve its competitiveness.

Professional trajectory

This year, Dr. Garbisu, current Scientific Director of NEIKER, has been included in the Top 1% of the aforementioned Stanford ranking, according to the data corresponding to the year 2021. Dr. Garbisu has contributed important advances to the knowledge of microorganisms inhabiting soils, with special emphasis on agricultural soils and contaminated soils, and has contributed, with pioneering character, to the development of Soil Microbial Ecology in the Basque Country. Likewise, he has provided relevant theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of degraded soils recovery. Currently, an important part of his research is focused on the risk of emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the environment.

Dr. Ramón Juste, researcher at NEIKER’s Animal Health Department, has developed his scientific activity in the field of animal health. His main scientific contributions are focused on the study of mycobacteriosis, having developed the first mathematical model of epidemiological and economic effectiveness of paratuberculosis control and demonstrated the specific and non-specific protection of vaccination. His main current interest is to continue this line, unraveling the innate immune mechanism common to slow inflammatory diseases and its application to control by active immunotherapy.

Finally, Dr. Inma Estévez, researcher at NEIKER’s Animal Production Department, has a degree in Zoology and a PhD in Ethology (animal behavior) from the University of Córdoba. Throughout her long professional career she has worked as a researcher at Agriculture Canada, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, at INRA (France) and at the University of Maryland (USA) where she obtained a Full Professor degree. In 2008 she joined NEIKER as a Senior IKERBASQUE Researcher. She has received several awards such as the Junior Faculty Award (University of Maryland), the Hy-Line International Research Award and the Poultry Science Association’s Poultry Welfare Research Award. Dr. Estevez has led numerous competitive research projects both in the USA and in Europe, always focused on behavioral and welfare aspects of production poultry, and has numerous publications both of a purely scientific and popular nature. He has participated in numerous international scientific panels (National Academy of Sciences), USA, EFSA, WOAH (OIE). His research work has always been developed from a basic perspective of behavioral ecology, especially highlighting his work in social dynamics, although easily combining its applications to the productive field.