Northwestern University (NU)
United States of America (USA)
Time frame: 1 June 2025 - 30 May 2026Profile
The Nature Index tracks primary research articles from 178 applied, health, natural and social sciences journals, across many different publishers, chosen by an independent group of researchers. The Nature Index provides absolute Count of primary research articles and fractional Share counts of author contribution to articles. The positions in the table below reflect Northwestern University (NU)'s position overall, domestically, within their sector, and in various subject areas based on their Share. Each position links to the corresponding table where Northwestern University (NU) is listed.
Position by research output Share
Position by research output Share in subject areas
Research
Northwestern University (NU) has the following research output in the current window (1 June 2025 - 30 May 2026) of the Nature Index. Click on Count to view a list of articles representing the corresponding Share value.
Overall research output
Research outputs by subject area
Leading research topics
In the Current Index (12-month rolling window), Northwestern University (NU) published the most articles in these research topics. Learn more about Nature Research Intelligence Topics.
| Topics | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Sciences | 112 | 29.90 |
| Physical Chemistry | 61 | 27.56 |
| Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry | 56 | 26.81 |
| Oncology and Carcinogenesis | 86 | 23.73 |
| Immunology | 42 | 14.72 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 29 | 13.74 |
| Astronomical Sciences | 84 | 13.54 |
| Biochemistry and Cell Biology | 34 | 12.75 |
Share output for the past 5 years
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.
Collaboration
Nature Index collaborations highlight fruitful collaborations that lead to high quality research around the world. A collaboration can be between any two institutions or locations co-authoring at least one article in the journals tracked by the Nature Index. The collaboration score between two institutions is the sum of each of their Shares on the papers to which both have contributed. The table and charts below highlight the leading collaborators with Northwestern University (NU).
Top 5 domestic collaborators with Northwestern University (NU) by Share
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
| Collaborating Institution | Collaborators' Share | Collaboration Score |
|---|---|---|
| The University of Chicago (UChicago) | 33.96 / 31.94 | 65.90 |
| Northwestern Medicine | 31.82 / 14.41 | 46.23 |
| Harvard University | 22.64 / 21.59 | 44.23 |
| Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University | 32.50 / 9.74 | 42.24 |
| Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) | 23.57 / 13.65 | 37.22 |
Top 5 international collaborators with Northwestern University (NU) by Share
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
| Collaborating Institution | Collaborators' Share | Total Share |
|---|---|---|
| University of Toronto (U of T) | 12.64 / 12.65 | 25.29 |
| The University of Hong Kong (HKU) | 4.03 / 3.18 | 7.21 |
| French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) | 4.48 / 2.16 | 6.63 |
| Korea University | 2.51 / 3.09 | 5.60 |
| University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | 4.00 / 1.47 | 5.47 |
Job finder
-
Postdoctoral Fellow – Protein Nanowire Electronics for Wearable Sensors
Northeastern University Shenyang, China
View more job listings on Nature Careers.
Latest supplements
Nature Index 2026 Regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine has the potential to transform the treatment of chronic and life-threatening diseases. But major challenges remain, such as overcoming immune rejection and ensuring that new therapies are developed using more inclusive data sets. In this supplement, we explore the discoveries that are driving the field, the barriers that could limit its progress, and the teams and institutions that are making their mark.
Nature Index 2026 Nanoscience and nanotechnology
From programmable RNA architectures to next-generation materials for energy and healthcare, researchers are harnessing the unusual properties of the nanoscale to tackle some of society's biggest challenges. This supplement explores the discoveries that are driving the field, the hurdles that remain and the institutions that are leading in nanoscience and nanotechnology research.
Relationships
Affiliated institutions
The following affiliated institutions are wholly owned, operated, administered or contains research facilities for Northwestern University (NU). All affiliations for an affiliated institution are credited to the institution to which it is affiliated. Each of the affiliated institutions listed below has its own research profile.
- Northwestern University (NU)
Affiliated joint institutions and consortia
Represents joint institutions and consortia for which the institution is designated as a partner institution. Each partner institution of a joint institution or consortium receives an equivalent Share for every affiliation in which the consortium is included.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems
- CDF Collaboration
- Center for Chemistry at the Space-Time Limit (CaSTL)
- Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD)
- Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT)
- Center for Layered Polymeric Systems (CLiPS)
- Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes (LEAP)
- Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials (CNEM)
- Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases (CSBID)
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago
- Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC)
- Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE)
- Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD)
- Committee on Institutional Cooperation
- DND-CAT Synchrotron Research Center
- Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC)
- DØ Collaboration
- Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network
- Future Circular Collider Design Study (FCC)
- GUGC Consortium
- Hall A Collaboration
- Inflammation and the Host Response to Injury
- Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR)
- Joint Center of Excellence in Integrated Nanosystems (JCIN)
- Life Sciences Collaborative Access Team (LS-CAT)
- MINERvA Collaboration
- MicroArray Quality Control (MAQC) Consortium
- Midwest Center for Structural Genomics (MCSG)
- NA48/2
- NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI)
- NTU-Northwestern Institute for Nanomedicine (NNIN)
- NU-Chicago Botanic Garden Plant Biology and Conservation Program
- NU-NIMS Center for Materials Innovation
- Nanoporous Materials Genome Center (NMGC)
- National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB)
- Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS)
- Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering (NAISE)
- Northwestern-Fermilab Center for Applied Physics and Superconducting Technologies (CAPST)
- Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN)
- The CMS Collaboration
- Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)
- UESTC-Northwestern University Joint Center for Materials Research