Web of Science gives Medicine chair highly cited distinction; MLS student earns national scholarship

Published on Monday, December 21, 2020

Web of Science names UMMC med chair ‘highly cited researcher’

Dr. Javed Butler, professor and chair of the UMMC Department of Medicine and Patrick H. Lehan Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, was recently listed by Web of Science as one of its 2020 Highly Cited Researchers.

Butler is one of 6,167 researchers and scientists from more than 60 countries and regions to be recognized by the organization as “true pioneers in their fields over the last decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and year.”

Web of Science is an information and technology provider for the global scientific research community. According to its website, the organization is part of Clarivate, a global leader in providing solutions to accelerate the life cycle of innovation.

The list of top researchers includes those from the medical community along with a wide variety of sciences, including chemistry and physics.

“In the race for knowledge, it is human capital that is fundamental, and this list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers . . . who are having a great impact on the research community as measured by the rate at which their work is being cited by others,” said David Pendlebury, senior citation analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate.

Butler, who joined the UMMC faculty in early 2018, is a heart failure expert and is board-certified in cardiovascular medicine and advanced heart failure and transplant medicine. The former deputy chief science officer for the American Heart Association, Butler’s research interests focus on clinical trials in patients with heart failure.

SHRP student one of five to receive MLS proficiency scholarship

Alex Lowman, a junior medical laboratory science student in the School of Health Related Professions, is one of five students nationwide to receive a $2,000 scholarship from the American Proficiency Institute.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, the vital importance of medical laboratory scientists has risen in consciousness,” said Daniel C. Edson, API president. “We are proud to continue for the 13th year scholarship support for the clinical laboratory profession.”

“Clinical laboratory scientists should not just care about results in the laboratory,” Lowman said. “Even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, I believe the field will – and should – continue to evolve into not only a provider of results, but a provider of resources for a healthier and safer future.”

Dr. LaToya Richards Moore, director of UMMC’s MLS program, said Lowman “masters the material” and is “wholeheartedly recommend(ed) for this prestigious award.”

“All of these scholarship winners have persevered to pursue their medical laboratory education,” Edson said. “One returned to college after practicing as a nurse, a few have experienced deep, personal losses that influenced their future career choice, and most are working and saving to finance their own education.

“This is a determined group of students that will serve well the laboratory profession.”

The API is one of the largest proficiency testing providers in the world, serving more than 20,000 laboratories. The API offers innovative solutions and technical excellence for the proficiency testing needs of hospital and reference laboratories, physician offices, clinics and point-of-care testing sites.