Faculty researchers at the forefront of science

The 2025 rankings of the world's top universities are official and many of the most prestigious lists provide inspiring reading for the Faculty of Pharmacy: In the QS World Ranking, Uppsala University reaches #47 in Pharmacy & Pharmacology, just behind ETH Zurich but five places above Ivy League Cornell University. If we continue to the Shanghai ranking, we find Uppsala University at #51 in Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as #74 in the US News Best Global Universities category Pharmacology & Toxicology – positions that are all among Uppsala University's highest in specific disciplines.

“That our faculty remains at the top of all these global rankings reflects the impressive enthusiasm, curiosity and professionalism that characterizes every part of our operations. Add to this that we are in the midst of development projects with several strategically important initiatives waiting ahead, and it is enough to convince me that we will soon advance our positions even further, says Anja Sandström, Deputy Dean and Professor.

We now turn our attention to Scopus, the world's largest reference database for peer-reviewed literature, assigning each individual researcher an H-index based on publications and citations, where 40 or higher characterizes "outstanding scientists, likely only found at the top universities". Here we find, among others, Björn Wettermark, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology with an H-index of 46 and the first recruitment to the faculty's interdisciplinary initiative on improved drug use, as well as Christian Benedict, who in May was appointed new Professor of Pharmacology, with an H-index of 54.

“The Faculty of Pharmacy and our Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences are without a doubt powerful environments in which to grow as academics. Here, we are treated with the best of conditions to conduct research, educate students and spread knowledge to the public on how good sleep can affect our brain health in the short and long term,” states Professor Christian Benedict.

If we continue to Research.com, we find rankings of the world's leading researchers in specific disciplines based on productivity and reach within their fields. Here too, researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy are highly visible, with prominent positions awarded to, among others, Per Artursson, Professor of Dosage Form Design, with 38,203 citations, Hans Lennernäs, Professor of Biopharmacy, with 29,033 citations and Anders Hallberg, Professor of Medicinal chemistry with 17,701 citations. Just below, we find several fast climbers, including Robert Fredriksson, Ola Söderberg and Anna Orlova, Professors of Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical cell biology and Theranostics.

“I cannot emphasize enough how much it means to share corridors with researchers who operate at the absolute highest level. Their work add groundbreaking research, important inspiration and new knowledge, which in turn generates great value in everything from education to attracting and retaining the top researchers of the future. Something that is obvious not least in our Faculty’s research environment in Pharmacometrics,” says Anja Sandström.

Thus, back to Scopus where we learn that Mats Karlsson, the world's first Professor of Pharmacometrics with 475(!) publications on his CV, has reached an H-index of 65. In this research environment, that still lacks equivalent in the academic world, we also find Professor Lena Friberg with an H-index of 48, and where in the past year Thomas Dorlo (#27) and Elin Svensson (#27) were appointed new Professors of Pharmacometrics, which further consolidated the group's internationally leading position.

“Already in 2023, our Department of Pharmacy became something so unusual as a department with more women than men among its professors. To me, it is of great importance to work in an environment that utilizes women's expertise and clarifies the career paths offered within academia. Our Faculty is already a scientific home to many role models, and I hope that this will inspire even more young researchers to discover the many opportunities we provide,” says Elin Svensson.

Among the role models who have already reached an H-index of 40+ we find plenty of household scientific names, including Christel Bergström (#50), Ulf Göransson (#48) and Per Andrén (#46). Close behind is Ola Spjuth (#35) followed by many of the faculty's newly appointed professors: Luke Odell (#31), Sara Mangsbo (#29), Elisabet Nielsen (#28) and Olof Eriksson (#28).

“I can only state that our recruitments and promotions have turned out highly successful. We have also recently completed the recruitment process of new professors for our environments in Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Technology, and the results give us every reason to believe that they are facing successful generational changes and that future rankings will continue to provide enjoyable reading for our Faculty of Pharmacy,” says Anja Sandström.

We congratulate the many researchers at our faculty who are rewarded with a position on the list: Well-deserved and excellent work!

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o