UCT scholars earn spot on Clarivate’s most Highly Cited Researchers list

In recognition of their global impact and multidisciplinary research, four University of Cape Town (UCT) scholars have earned a spot on Clarivate’s most Highly Cited Researchers list for 2025.

Clarivate Plc is a leading provider of transformative intelligence. The organisation released its Highly Cited Researchers list in November. The list recognises researchers whose contributions have demonstrated broad and significant influence in their fields.

Broad impact research

This year, Emeritus Professor William Bond from the Department of Biological Sciences, Emerita Professor Estelle Lambert, Professor Crick Lund, and Professor Darren Martin – all from the Faculty of Health Sciences – have joined thousands of globally renowned researchers on the prestigious list.

“I warmly congratulate professors William Bond, Estelle Lambert, Crick Lund and Darren Martin on being named among Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers for 2025. This recognition speaks not only to the global impact of their scholarship, but also to the strength and depth of UCT’s research enterprise,” said Professor Jeff Murugan, UCT’s acting deputy vice-chancellor: Research and Internationalisation.

“Their work exemplifies the university’s commitment to producing knowledge that shapes its fields, informs policy and practice, and advances society. Their success reflects the excellence of our research community as a whole and reinforces UCT’s standing as a leading centre of innovation on the African continent.”

Analysts from Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information recognised 6 868 researchers with 7 131 awards; awardees come from more than 1 300 institutions, spanning 60 countries and regions. The stringent evaluation process draws on data from the Web of Science Core Collection and uses quantitative metrics and qualitative analysis to identify individuals whose work has had a genuine, global influence on their fields.

Emeritus Professor William Bond

His research interests lie in ecology, biogeography and evolution of open (non-forested) ecosystems. He has diverse interests in fire and herbivore ecology and their impacts on tree populations. Emeritus Professor Bond has helped build a conceptual framework of global biogeography that includes how animals and fire interact with climate to shape the distribution and structure of terrestrial ecosystems. This work also has policy implications, and challenges global plans to afforest large areas of open ecosystems for carbon capture.

Professor Estelle Lambert

Professor Lambert’s research explores the relationship between physical activity and health, the interplay of the environment with physical activity, and the connections between obesity, diet and food security. Her work, viewed through a Global South and equity lens, also encompasses community-based interventions and citizen science, spanning all life stages. It delves into the prevalence and burden of disease, the underlying causes of health effects and benefits, and the factors influencing physical activity and obesity throughout one’s life.

Professor Crick Lund

His research focuses on four broad areas:

• Developing and evaluating mental health interventions in low-resource settings, using individual and cluster randomised controlled trials and complex health systems evaluation.
• Adolescent mental health research, including descriptive epidemiology on social determinants of adolescent mental health, child and adolescent mental health service design, and qualitative explorations of adolescents’ experience of poverty and mental health.
• Systematic reviews on the social determinants of mental health in low to middle-income countries (LMIC) and interventions to break the cycle of poverty and mental illness in LMIC.
• Mental health policy and services research.

Professor Darren Martin

Professor Martin’s research explores the study of genetic recombination in virus evolution. This includes understanding how viruses evolve to become more pathogenic, develop drug resistance and evade vaccines. The work of his team combines computer-based analysis with practical lab experiments to explore how viruses maintain their genetic integrity while adapting and evolving. This research is crucial in designing vaccines and drugs that are more effective against rapidly evolving viruses. Martin’s contributions are not just in research, but also in nurturing future scientists through high-quality bioinformatics education and training.

Clarivate’s list also offers valuable insights into the global landscape of top research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions.