Seven PMI Cluster Members Are “Highly Cited Researchers” 2025

In the list of “Highly Cited Researchers,” the data and analytics company Clarivate Analytics features researchers whose scientific publications and research contributions are cited particularly frequently. This means that the work and studies of these individuals are considered especially relevant and significant and have a substantial impact on the development and advancement of their respective fields.

In 2025, this applies to seven researchers from the Cluster of Excellence  “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (PMI): John Baines, Andre Franke, Rolf Hilgenfeld, Stefan Rose-John, Stefan Schreiber, Malte Spielmann, and Diamant Thaçi.

The analysis is based on the “Web of Science Core Collection” database. The ranking includes researchers who, over the past eleven years, have contributed to several of the top one percent most-cited publications in their field. However, citation frequency is not the only selection criterion. The citation-based list is further refined through additional quantitative indicators as well as qualitative analyses and expert assessments.

In 2025, the list includes 6,868 researchers worldwide across 21 research fields. Some of these researchers are leaders in multiple disciplines, resulting in a total of 7,131 recognitions, 363 of which are in Germany.

Prof. Dr. John F. Baines is the Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Kiel Campus, and at Kiel University (CAU). Since April 2009, he has been Professor of Evolutionary Medicine at Kiel University. His research group links the UKSH, Kiel Campus, with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön and investigates the evolution of disease genes as well as the genetic foundations of interactions between mammals and their microbiota. His main focus is on chronic inflammatory diseases. Prof. Baines is firmly embedded in Kiel’s excellence research on inflammation and builds a bridge between medical and evolutionary biology research.

Prof. Dr. Andre Franke is the Director of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology at the UKSH, Kiel Campus, and at Kiel University (CAU), and Professor of Molecular Medicine at CAU. His publications include major contributions in the fields of genetics, sequence analysis, immunogenetics, and bioinformatics. His main interests lie in the development and establishment of novel high-throughput technologies, innovative analytical methods, and the application of both to identify genetic and non-genetic causes of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Prof. Franke is the spokesperson of the DFG research group miTarget and the EU project miGut-Health.

Prof. Dr. Rolf Hilgenfeld († 2025) was Director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Lübeck and, following his retirement, Senior Professor at the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University and UKSH. His work focused on the structural elucidation of viral proteins, particularly those of coronaviruses, and made significant contributions to the development of antiviral drugs. In 2020, his research group resolved the crystal structure of the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, forming the basis for drugs such as nirmatrelvir/Paxlovid. In recognition of his life’s work, he was awarded the Carl Hermann Medal of the German Crystallographic Society in 2023. Prof. Hilgenfeld passed away in June 2025.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Rose-John is an internationally recognized expert on the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its significance in chronic inflammation. He served for more than 22 years as Professor of Biochemistry at the Medical Faculty of Kiel University (CAU) and as Director of the Institute of Biochemistry, where he continues to act in an advisory capacity as an emeritus professor. Prof. Rose-John was a member of the DFG Excellence Cluster for Inflammation Research and headed the Collaborative Research Center “Proteolysis as a Regulatory Event in Pathophysiology” at CAU for twelve years. In 2023, the Jung Foundation for Science and Research honored him with the Jung Gold Medal for Medicine for his scientific lifetime achievements, and in 2024 he received the BioLegend William E. Paul Award of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society in Seoul, South Korea.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Stefan Schreiber is the Director of the Department of Internal Medicine I at the UKSH, Kiel Campus, and of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology at the UKSH and Kiel University (CAU). His work focuses on the mechanisms of inflammation and the development of new therapies for chronic inflammatory diseases. Based on molecular insights, he seeks approaches for the prevention and treatment of these conditions. On Prof. Schreiber’s initiative, the Inflammation at Interfaces network was formed, which was funded by the German Excellence Initiative and has continued since 2019 as the Excellence Cluster PMI. With the goal of treating inflammation not organ-specifically but holistically, he developed the concept of an interdisciplinary inflammation clinic. Since 2009, patients have been treated according to this approach at the Excellence Center for Inflammation Medicine.

Prof. Dr. Malte Spielmann is the Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at the UKSH in Kiel and Lübeck, as well as an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. His research focuses on the genetic causes of rare diseases. Prof. Spielmann is among the internationally leading scientists in the field of functional genomics and has made key contributions to understanding human hereditary disorders. In addition, the Spielmann lab is one of the pioneers in the development and application of innovative single-cell technologies. Prof. Spielmann is a member of the Excellence Cluster Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation and of the Collaborative Research Center Sex Diversity.

Prof. Dr. Diamant Thaçi is the Director of the Institute of Inflammation Medicine at the UKSH, Lübeck Campus, and at the University of Lübeck, as well as Head of the Excellence Center for Inflammation Medicine (Comprehensive Center Inflammation Medicine, CCIM) and of the Section of Inflammation Medicine. His research focuses on developing innovative therapeutic approaches for chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Prof. Thaçi is internationally recognized for his expertise in clinical research, including the identification of new biomarkers and the development of personalized therapies. He has led numerous clinical studies and publishes regularly in renowned journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.