UAlbany Biology Faculty Ranked Among the World's Best Scientists in their Disciplines
UAlbany Biology Faculty Ranked Among the World’s Best Scientists in their Disciplines
As recently featured in UAlbany’s Dozens of UAlbany Researchers Among World’s Top 2% of Scientists | University at Albany article, the Department of Biological Sciences is proud to recognize three of its faculty members being among the world’s top 2% scientists according to the 2025 Stanford University global citation impact database published through Elsevier and they include Dr. Annalisa Scimemi, Dr. Alex Valm, and Dr. Ing-Nang Wang. These three scientists join more than 50 UAlbany researchers listed in this year’s Stanford ranking.
The Stanford University Citation Impact Report evaluates the work of more than six million researchers worldwide and identifies top performers using standardized citation metrics, publication records, and field impact data. This recognition emphasizes UAlbany’s national and international presence as a Carnegie R1 Research Institution and reflects the outstanding scientific contributions of its faculty.
The University at Albany, College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences congratulates the three faculty members included in this year’s Stanford University Report and acknowledges their outstanding achievements in research.
Dr. Annalisa Scimemi
Dr. Annalisa Scimemi, Associate Professor of Biology and Adjunct Professor of the Department of Physics, is an internationally recognized neuroscientist whose research examines how neurons and astrocytes communicate to regulate synaptic functions. Her work focuses on the regulation of glutamate transporters such as EAAT2/GLT-1 and cellular mechanisms involved in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Scimemi earned her MSc in Biology from the University of Pisa and her PhD in Biophysics from SISSA/ISAS in Italy. She later completed research fellowships at University College London and the National Institutes of Health. Since joining the UAlbany faculty in 2015, she has authored 14 commentaries, 3 book chapters and 27 original research articles with several published in The Journal of Neuroscience, European Journal of Neuroscience, and Cell Reports. Her work has been cited more than 2,600 times.
Dr. Scimemi’s research program is supported by NIH and NSF awards totaling nearly $2.85 million. She also serves as President of the Hudson-Berkshire Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, holds editorial and review positions with several journals, and has mentored and advised numerous student researchers at UAlbany.
During the academic year, Dr. Scimemi currently instructs ABIO 515B Responsible Conduct and Skills in Scientific Communication and ABIO 341 Neurobiology. She also contributes to community and professional services and various training opportunities for students at the undergraduate, graduate and high school levels.
Dr. Alex Valm
Dr. Alex Valm is an Associate Professor of Biology, Coordinator of A.I. in Biology and an Associate Faculty Member of the RNA Institute. His research focuses on a better understanding of microbial biology using high-resolution imaging, computational approaches, and new A.I. technologies to study microbiome structure and behavior.
Dr. Valm received his PhD in Pathobiology from Brown University, his MS in Cell Biology from UNC Chapel Hill, and his BS in Biology with Honors from Bradley University. He completed a NIH PRAT Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz where he specialized in high-resolution microscopy.
Since joining UAlbany in 2017, Dr. Valm has authored 21 peer-reviewed publications notably Immunity, Bioinformatics, and Journal of Dental Research. His research is currently supported by NIH R01 grants of $4 million. He has been recognized with the 2023 UAlbany Excellence in Research Award and the 2021 RNA Institute Excellence in Research Award.
Dr. Valm teaches ABIO 397 Microbiome in Health as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate research courses. He also contributes to conference leadership, public outreach, and training programs for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Dr. Ing-Nang Wang
Dr. Ing-Nang Wang, Associate Professor of Biology studies bacteriophage biology, microbial evolution as well as the ecological and genetic factors that shape these relationships. His work has contributed to understanding phage life history traits, host evolution, and microbial population dynamics with applications relevant to infectious disease ecology.
Dr. Wang earned his PhD in Biological Sciences from Stony Brook University, his MS from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and a BS from National Taiwan University. He joined UAlbany as an Assistant Professor in 2002 and has served as Associate Professor since 2008.
He has authored 40 peer-reviewed publications spanning virology, evolutionary biology, microbial ecology, and wildlife disease with recent articles in Frontiers in Microbiology and iScience. His research has been supported by several NIH grants, which includes an R21 award for engineering bacteriophage host range as well as a notable grant from Academia Sinica to study molecular parasites. In 2023, he received a University at Albany research award to support new phage purification studies.
Dr. Wang teaches ABIO 329 Genetics of Human Disease, and ABIO429/529 Molecular Virology. He also contributes extensively to scientific peer review as an evaluator for the NIH, NSF, and numerous journals and serves on several departmental and university committees.
The Department of Biological Sciences congratulates Dr. Scimemi, Dr. Valm, and Dr. Wang for earning distinction among the world’s top 2 percent of scientists. Their accomplishments reveal the department’s strengths across neuroscience, microbiology, and evolutionary biology, and demonstrate UAlbany’s impact on research and scientific discovery.
For additional information on UAlbany’s Dozens of UAlbany Researchers Among World’s Top 2% of Scientists: Dozens of UAlbany Researchers Among World’s Top 2% of Scientists | University at Albany.
Information on 2025 Stanford University global citation impact database published through Elsevier: August 2025 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators" - Elsevier BV
Click on link for information on the Department of Biological Sciences Academic and Research Programs: Department of Biological Sciences | University at Albany