The 2024 list recognizing researchers whose studies are most often cited in their fields includes six Washington State University faculty: Dan “Annie” Du, Dogan Gursoy, Kris Kowdley, Yuehe Lin, Nathan McDowell, and Yong Wang.
Clarivate, the analytics company that runs the Web of Science research platform, creates the Highly Cited Researchers List every year. Inclusion on the list means that research by these faculty ranks in the top 1% by citations for their fields and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade.
Dan “Annie” Du
- Research professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Voiland College of Engineering
Du conducts research on developing nanomaterials for biosensing and drug delivery as well as immunosensors and microchips for biomarker detection. Her work includes developing a health monitor that can measure disease markers in human sweat, a quick test to detect wildfire smoke exposure and an early detection method for Alzheimer’s disease and functional gold and platinum nanoparticles for cancer therapy.
Dogan Gursoy
- Regents Professor and Taco Bell Distinguished Professor in Hospitality Business Management
Carson College of Business
A leading hospitality and tourism researcher, Gursoy focuses on topics such as use of AI devices in service delivery, sustainability, services management, tourist behavior, and hospitality and tourism marketing. His research includes a study of how using the term “artificial intelligence” in product descriptions reduces people’s purchasing intentions and another on how artificial intelligence technology integration into workplaces affects employees’ proactive service behaviors.
Kris Kowdley
- Professor
Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine - Director
Liver Institute Northwest
Kowdley is an internationally recognized liver disease expert and researcher. He has led several international clinical trials of new treatments for hepatitis C, hereditary hemochromatosis, primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. He has a longstanding research interest on the role of iron as a co-factor in many liver diseases. Kowdley is first author on a New England Journal of Medicine article on elafibranor for treatment of primary biliary cholangitis.
Yuehe Lin
- Professor in School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Voiland College of Engineering
Renowned for his contributions to materials science and chemistry, Lin has been recognized on the Highly Cited Researchers list since 2014. His pioneering research in nanotechnology has led to significant advancements in disease diagnosis, targeted drug delivery, and sustainable energy solutions. Among his many notable studies are the development of a low-cost glyphosate sensor, a breakthrough in water-splitting, and a new drug delivery technology for cancer treatment.
Nathan McDowell
- Earth Scientist
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with a joint appointment in WSU’s School of Biological Sciences
McDowell is an international expert on forest function and disturbance under global environmental change. His recent work focuses on causes and consequences of tree mortality due to drought, fire, insect attack, and sea level rise. Among his many publications, he was lead author on articles on woody plant mortality in Nature Reviews, Earth & Environment and Global Change Biology.
(Photo by Andrea Starr, PNNL)
Yong Wang
- Regents Professor and Voiland Distinguished Professor
The Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering - Laboratory Fellow and Associate Director of the Institute of Integrated Catalysis
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Yong Wang is widely recognized for his pioneering work in developing novel catalytic materials and reaction engineering to tackle energy and atom efficiency challenges in converting carbon sources — including fossil fuels, biomass, carbon dioxide, and plastic waste — into fuels and chemicals with minimal environmental impact.
