2018 Research Leaders: Leading NPO/NGO institutions

The 2018 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017.

Table criteria

Position Institution Share 2016 Share 2017 Count 2017 Change in Share 2016–2017
1 Max Planck Society, Germany 766.55 748.83 2329
-2.3%
2 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany 530.20 514.71 2092
-2.9%
3 Leibniz Association, Germany 208.54 187.04 767
-10.3%
4 Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Russia 172.02 176.10 818
2.4%
5 Scripps Research, United States of America (USA) 153.82 147.02 320
-4.4%
6 Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), China 190.66 143.12 329
-24.9%
7 Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Spain 119.22 107.99 384
-9.4%
8 Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, United States of America (USA) 55.00 63.53 372
15.5%
9 The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 44.79 62.19 150
38.9%
10 Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), Canada 33.70 50.72 128
50.5%
11 Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), United States of America (USA) 42.42 46.97 247
10.7%
12 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), United States of America (USA) 49.01 46.80 139
-4.5%
13 Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Salk), United States of America (USA) 48.40 37.87 116
-21.8%
14 Pasteur Institute, France 37.93 36.98 202
-2.5%
15 HHMI Janelia Research Campus, United States of America (USA) 45.94 36.95 84
-19.6%
16 Wellcome Sanger Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 25.89 32.30 165
24.8%
17 Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT), Spain 32.49 32.08 78
-1.2%
18 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), United States of America (USA) 37.75 29.90 109
-20.8%
19 Institute of Earth Physics of Paris (IPGP), France 30.00 29.82 110
-0.6%
20 Institut Néel, France 23.22 28.05 104
20.8%
21 Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (ISCR), France 18.37 27.60 63
50.2%
22 Institute of Earth Sciences (ISTerre), France 21.05 25.39 66
20.6%
23 Institute for Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), Spain 24.89 25.31 184
1.7%
24 Institute for Nanoscience and Cryogenics (INAC), France 29.24 24.90 81
-14.8%
25 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), United States of America (USA) 18.61 24.49 65
31.6%
26 Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), United States of America (USA) 22.92 24.12 94
5.3%
27 Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), United States of America (USA) 23.63 23.63 61
0.0%
28 Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Belgium 36.02 22.91 124
-36.4%
29 Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), France 23.12 22.73 105
-1.7%
30 Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Austria 28.96 21.98 80
-24.1%
31 Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (C2N), France 9.21 21.15 52
129.8%
32 Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), United States of America (USA) 25.55 21.09 110
-17.4%
33 Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT), France 28.29 20.77 55
-26.6%
34 JILA, United States of America (USA) 33.36 19.94 53
-40.2%
35 Institute for Systems Research Atomic and Molecular Complexes (IRSAMC), France 23.53 19.91 58
-15.4%
36 Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter (CICQM), China 22.70 19.84 205
-12.6%
37 Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain 25.09 19.80 282
-21.1%
38 State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, China 31.92 19.35 49
-39.4%
39 CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, China 17.28 19.13 30
10.7%
40 John Innes Centre (JIC), United Kingdom (UK) 22.45 19.07 55
-15.1%
41 Institute of Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), France 15.73 19.00 64
20.8%
42 Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Switzerland 14.76 18.75 46
27.1%
43 Cluster of Excellence - Munich Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPS-M), LMU, Germany 14.13 18.61 92
31.7%
44 Center for Molecular Engineering (CME), United States of America (USA) 12.09 18.55 59
53.4%
45 Stowers Institute for Medical Research, United States of America (USA) 10.77 18.45 36
71.4%
46 National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS), United Kingdom (UK) 15.08 18.38 49
21.9%
47 Ames Laboratory, United States of America (USA) 16.50 17.70 57
7.3%
48 Hansjorg Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, United States of America (USA) 18.87 17.67 73
-6.4%
49 Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes (LEAP), United States of America (USA) 12.59 17.66 33
40.3%
50 National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef), Netherlands 14.28 16.90 204
18.4%
51 Institute of Mineralogy, Materials Physics and Cosmochemistry (IMPMC), France 14.05 16.75 61
19.2%
52 CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Spain 12.03 16.29 41
35.3%
53 MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM), United Kingdom (UK) 8.23 16.18 75
96.6%
54 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), United States of America (USA) 19.13 16.17 97
-15.5%
55 Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering (ISIS), France 18.55 15.85 37
-14.5%
56 Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia 14.09 15.10 82
7.1%
57 Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI), Croatia 8.89 14.74 130
65.9%
58 Laboratory of Theoretical Physics ENS (LPTENS), France 10.74 14.27 36
32.8%
59 Institute of Chemistry of Natural Substances (ICSN), France 12.45 14.23 31
14.3%
60 Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials of Strasbourg (IPCMS), France 18.27 14.18 44
-22.3%
61 Fraunhofer Society, Germany 21.96 13.97 95
-36.4%
62 Curie Institute, France 13.29 13.96 114
5.0%
63 Institute for Structural Biology (IBS), France 13.83 13.91 44
0.6%
64 Institute of Molecular Sciences (ISM), France 13.40 13.90 29
3.8%
65 California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), United States of America (USA) 14.02 13.90 94
-0.8%
66 Kastler Brossel Laboratory (LKB), France 9.03 13.48 39
49.2%
67 Synchrotron SOLEIL, France 12.18 13.47 77
10.6%
68 Laboratoire de Physique ENS de Lyon, France 11.13 13.28 31
19.4%
69 Department of Biology Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), France 10.15 12.96 43
27.8%
70 State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, China 17.26 12.79 26
-25.9%
71 State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, China 13.93 12.72 42
-8.7%
72 IPSL Sciences Laboratory of Climate and the Environment (LSCE), France 15.36 12.23 56
-20.4%
73 Institute Charles Gerhardt of Montpellier (ICGM), France 7.64 12.18 36
59.4%
74 Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), Belgium 19.33 11.99 47
-38.0%
75 Laboratoire de Physique des Solides (LPS), France 17.84 11.95 44
-33.0%
76 Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM), Portugal 13.07 11.89 41
-9.0%
77 Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), France 8.03 11.46 43
42.8%
78 Basic Sciences Division, FHCRC, United States of America (USA) 15.29 11.39 29
-25.5%
79 Cancer Research UK (CRUK), United Kingdom (UK) 9.96 11.22 113
12.7%
80 Institut Charles Sadron (ICS), France 8.10 11.20 22
38.3%
81 Laboratory of Theoretical and High Energy Physics (LPTHE), France 14.05 11.11 40
-21.0%
82 Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), France 15.23 10.90 28
-28.4%
83 The Wistar Institute, United States of America (USA) 11.96 10.82 31
-9.5%
84 Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ), Austria 8.43 10.70 24
26.9%
85 Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), France 14.12 10.36 79
-26.7%
86 Institute of Light and Matter (ILM), France 10.58 10.30 29
-2.7%
87 Ludwig Cancer Research, United States of America (USA) 9.07 10.28 110
13.4%
88 Institute of Human Genetics (IGH), France 2.43 10.28 16
322.5%
89 Cluster of Excellence - Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED), TU Dresden, Germany 9.62 10.18 50
5.8%
90 Severo Ochoa Centre for Molecular Biology (CBMSO), Spain 10.39 10.07 25
-3.0%
91 Institute of Microbial Chemistry (IMC), Japan 3.33 10.05 11
201.8%
92 International Solvay Institutes, Belgium 10.25 10.00 41
-2.5%
93 Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), United States of America (USA) 7.00 9.93 25
41.8%
94 Laboratory of ENS Statistical Physics (LPS-ENS), France 14.57 9.91 24
-32.0%
95 La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), United States of America (USA) 13.35 9.88 45
-26.0%
96 Institute of Life Sciences Research and Technologies (iRTSV), France 12.25 9.68 36
-21.0%
97 State Key Laboratory of Virology (SKLV), China 8.09 9.63 24
19.1%
98 MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, New Zealand 10.36 9.61 20
-7.3%
99 Center for Integrative Biology in Toulouse (CBI Toulouse), France 11.74 9.56 24
-18.6%
100 Institute of Chemistry and Biology of Membranes and Nano-Objects (CBMN), France 8.63 9.52 19
10.4%
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Footnote

Each year, the Nature Index publishes tables based on counts of high-quality research outputs in the previous calendar year. Users please note:

  1. The data behind the tables are based on a relatively small proportion of total research papers, they cover the natural sciences only and outputs are non-normalized (that is, they don’t reflect the size of the country or institution, or its overall research output).
  2. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country/territory’s publication output in 82 high-quality natural science publications. The publications were chosen by an independent group of researchers. The list is reviewed periodically and journals may be removed or added.
  3. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals.
  4. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and the data in the above table is published under a creative commons licence at nature.com/nature-index/.
  5. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Nature Index database undergoes regular updating, corrections, adjustment of institutional hierarchies, and removal of retracted papers and thus the live website can differ from the research leaders tables.

Research Leaders tables from previous years are also updated annually to reflect any changes to the database. This means rankings and metrics may differ from the table when first released.


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