This is the second year that the Central Library has published a list of university-affiliated scientific publications with corresponding authorship whose citation rates exceed three times the average for their respective fields, which means that they have a significant scientific impact and have thus garnered considerable international attention. A dedicated directive from the rector and chancellor governs the compilation of the list and the recognition of exceptional publications. Each year, publications released three years earlier are reviewed, as it is typically by this time that citation rates (i.e., the frequency with which other researchers reference the findings of a given publication in their own articles) reach a level that allows for meaningful comparison.
While the first such list, compiled in 2025, included 34 articles, the recently published 2026 list features more than 60.
From artificial intelligence to vesicles in top university publications
The top spot on the list based on Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) is held by an article by Dr. Bertalan Meskó, a medical future researcher and Visiting Lecturer at Semmelweis University, on the need for regulatory oversight of large language models used in healthcare in light of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). In second place is an article by Dr. Balázs Győrffy on the discovery and ranking of the most robust prognostic biomarkers in serous ovarian cancer, followed by Dr. Edit Buzás with her publication on the roles of extracellular vesicles in the immune system. The TOP 10 list also features Vice-Rector for Science and Innovations Dr. Péter Ferdinandy, Dr. János Vág, Dr. János Szebeni, Dr. László Földvári-Nagy, and Rector Dr. Béla Merkely. The complete list is available on the Central Library’s website.
“The rise in the number of our most outstanding scientific publications clearly demonstrates the growing excellence of Semmelweis University. Year after year, our publications are increasingly cited worldwide, the results of our research are referenced more and more frequently, and the impact and productivity of our scientific work are expanding,” noted Dr. Béla Merkely, adding that this was also confirmed by the rankings. In Times Higher Education’s latest Medical and Health ranking, the university has moved up another 20 places and is now among the top 200, with a particularly significant increase in the score for the research quality indicator.
The rector emphasized that one of the university’s key strategic goals was to provide a research environment and supportive infrastructure in which talent, collaboration, and international visibility can all thrive simultaneously. PhD students play a key role in the growth of the university’s scientific performance, and their numbers are rising rapidly, he added. The rector considers it important to recognize outstanding academic achievements, as this is significant in terms of the appreciation of researchers.
“Outstanding research work is one of the fundamental tools for further strengthening our position in the rankings; moreover, this is what shapes the future of science as well as medicine and ultimately serves the interests of our patients above all,” said the rector.
According to the directive from the rector and chancellor mentioned above, special recognition is therefore also granted if a publication appears in a journal ranked in the top 10 percent of the field (D1 category), as well as if a researcher is included in the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list. The latter requires several articles that rank in the top 1 percent of the given field based on citation counts.
During his first term as rector in 2018, Dr. Béla Merkely initiated the creation of a database to showcase and evaluate the excellence of the university’s scientific work. This was completed in 2019 on the Central Library’s website and has been continuously developing and expanding ever since. The database also includes rankings of organizational units and authors, updated once a month on average. “I believe it is very important that, as leaders, we see what kind of work is being done in the organization we manage, in comparison with others. As researchers, it is equally important for us to gauge our performance against others, as this can provide further motivation and, if necessary, help us improve it,” the rector pointed out.
Rankings at the researcher and organizational unit levels based on seven criteria
In the Central Library’s database – partly public and partly accessible via the university’s internal network – university researchers, organizational units, and faculties can be listed based on numerous different scientometric indicators. There are seven criteria for author rankings, including, among others, the career-spanning H-index and the H-index for the last five years, the total number of publications indexed in international databases, and the number of citations, explained Péter Szluka, Director of the Central Library. As he noted, the data is sourced from the Hungarian Science Bibliography (MTMT) as well as the two most significant international scientific databases, Web of Science and Scopus.
According to the default indicator, the “H-index last 5+ years,” the ranking of university researchers is led by Dr. Béla Merkely, with Dr. Péter Hegyi in second place. Also in the TOP 10 are Dr. Balázs Győrffy, Dr. Pál Maurovich-Horvat, Dr. Anna Csiszár, Dr. Bálint Mihály Erőss, Dr. Péter Ferdinandy, and Dr. Péter Gaál. (The complete list and breakdown by additional indicators are available on the library’s website, with the most comprehensive information accessible via the internal network.)
In the ranking of organizational units, they can be listed based on fourteen criteria; according to the default indicator, “total number of scientific publications in MTMT,” the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center ranks first, followed in the TOP 5 by the Pediatric Center, the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, the Department of Cardiology – Heart and Vascular Center, and the Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology.
What is the H-index?
The Hirsch index is a metric used to measure the scientific output and impact of a researcher or organizational unit based on their publications and citations. For example, if someone has an H-index of 50, it means they have at least fifty publications, each of which has been cited at least fifty times. The H-index can be calculated for an entire career or for the past five years; various versions exist, and the higher the number, the greater the achievement.
Dr. Béla Merkely not only ranks at the top as an author by most parameters, but the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center, which he heads, is also considered a top-tier institution based on numerous indicators. In this regard, the rector stated: “A key goal at the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center, spanning generations, is to create genuine workshops that attract and inspire young people, both Students’ Scientific Association (TDK) and PhD students.” He considers the translational approach of the research conducted at the center to be of paramount importance – that is, ensuring research findings are applied at the patient’s bedside. The center participates in and has participated in numerous multicenter, international clinical trials, which in some cases lead to the formulation of new treatment guidelines. Thanks to its outstanding activity in clinical trials, the center is among the first in the world where the latest procedures, drug therapies, and device-based treatments are available to patients. The conscious development of industrial and academic collaborations as well as international relationships plays an important role in enhancing scientific excellence, the rector added. Semmelweis is considered one of the most international universities in the world, maintaining close partnerships with world-renowned institutions such as Heidelberg University, the Karolinska Institute, the National University of Singapore, and even Harvard, which is considered one of the best universities in the world, he stressed.
When is the citation rate – and thus the impact – of a scientific article high?
The citation rate (citation count) of a scientific publication is high if the article is referenced by many other scientific works published later. For this to happen, the publication must contain information that is of fundamental importance to the field and sufficiently substantiated (e.g., validated through the involvement of many patients). The likelihood of high citation rates increases when the topic affects many people, is interdisciplinary, or pertains to a rapidly evolving field. Articles with multiple authors resulting from international collaboration also reach a wider audience, which can increase the number of citations. Citation rates naturally vary across different fields of study, as publication practices, the average lifespan of articles, and the size of the research community in a given field differ; therefore, when comparing different disciplines, it is advisable to measure the citation rate of a publication against the average citation rate of that discipline, Péter Szluka pointed out. Open-access articles published in high-prestige journals typically have a greater chance of high citation rates; furthermore, it is important that a publication be indexed in as many databases as possible (such as Medline, Web of Science, or Scopus).
Pálma Dobozi
Translation: Dr. Balázs Csizmadia
Photos by Boglárka Zellei, Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University
