2017 Research Leaders: Leading NPO/NGO institutions

The 2017 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016.

Table criteria

Position Institution Share 2015 Share 2016 Count 2016 Change in Adjusted Share* 2015–2016
1 Max Planck Society, Germany 745.16 766.58 2417 5.5% Increase
2 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany 541.92 530.33 2080 0.4% Increase
3 Leibniz Association, Germany 222.19 208.56 777 -3.7% Decrease
4 Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Russia 161.38 172.05 769 9.3% Increase
5 Scripps Research, United States of America (USA) 139.12 153.80 325 13.4% Increase
6 Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Spain 98.66 119.22 403 23.9% Increase
7 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), United States of America (USA) 32.19 49.01 150 56.2% Increase
8 Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Salk), United States of America (USA) 53.07 48.40 139 -6.4% Decrease
9 HHMI Janelia Research Campus, United States of America (USA) 51.71 45.67 93 -9.4% Decrease
10 The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 54.75 44.79 122 -16.1% Decrease
11 Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), United States of America (USA) 42.63 42.42 233 2.1% Increase
12 Pasteur Institute, France 34.69 38.83 201 14.8% Increase
13 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), United States of America (USA) 42.30 37.75 104 -8.5% Decrease
14 Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Belgium 25.81 36.02 153 43.2% Increase
15 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), United States of America (USA) 30.41 35.85 143 20.9% Increase
16 Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), Canada 47.84 33.70 103 -27.7% Decrease
17 Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), India 43.79 28.99 56 -32.1% Decrease
18 Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Austria 15.58 28.96 92 90.6% Increase
19 Wellcome Sanger Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 30.49 25.89 165 -12.9% Decrease
20 Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain 18.73 25.09 291 37.4% Increase
21 Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), United States of America (USA) 21.21 22.92 96 10.8% Increase
22 John Innes Centre (JIC), United Kingdom (UK) 16.87 22.44 50 36.4% Increase
23 Fraunhofer Society, Germany 21.07 21.96 127 6.9% Increase
24 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Netherlands 20.46 20.80 128 4.3% Increase
25 Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), Belgium 23.01 19.33 53 -13.8% Decrease
26 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), United States of America (USA) 13.73 19.13 109 42.9% Increase
27 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), United States of America (USA) 37.85 18.61 61 -49.6% Decrease
28 Ames Laboratory, United States of America (USA) 24.03 16.50 50 -29.6% Decrease
29 Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), France 11.36 14.12 83 27.6% Increase
30 Cluster of Excellence - Munich Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPS-M), LMU, Germany 20.17 14.12 72 -28.2% Decrease
31 Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia 13.85 14.09 67 4.3% Increase
32 California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), United States of America (USA) 14.64 14.02 82 -1.8% Decrease
33 Gladstone Institutes, United States of America (USA) 13.51 13.52 44 2.7% Increase
34 Curie Institute, France 21.76 13.34 98 -37.1% Decrease
35 La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), United States of America (USA) 13.69 13.32 49 -0.2% Decrease
36 The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), United States of America (USA) 14.73 13.10 44 -8.8% Decrease
37 The Wistar Institute, United States of America (USA) 7.95 12.34 33 59.2% Increase
38 CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Spain 9.15 11.92 40 33.6% Increase
39 Babraham Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 7.27 10.87 31 53.3% Increase
40 Stowers Institute for Medical Research, United States of America (USA) 19.76 10.77 25 -44.1% Decrease
41 Cluster of Excellence - Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED), TU Dresden, Germany 6.33 10.62 60 72.1% Increase
42 International Solvay Institutes, Belgium 10.12 10.25 45 4.0% Increase
43 Cancer Research UK (CRUK), United Kingdom (UK) 8.13 9.98 94 25.8% Increase
44 Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Italy 10.26 9.31 43 -7.0% Decrease
45 Ludwig Cancer Research, United States of America (USA) 7.96 9.10 89 17.1% Increase
46 Gulbenkian Science Institute (IGC), Portugal 8.18 8.95 21 12.2% Increase
47 Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI), Croatia 11.32 8.89 104 -19.5% Decrease
48 Bose Institute, India 3.44 8.55 32 154.9% Increase
49 Cluster of Excellence - Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN), Uni Tübingen, Germany 3.88 8.18 24 116.1% Increase
50 Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Canada 7.98 7.84 78 0.8% Increase
51 Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), China 4.29 7.38 46 76.2% Increase
52 Cluster of Excellence - Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), UoC, Germany 3.74 7.27 37 99.4% Increase
53 Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal 8.25 7.22 20 -10.3% Decrease
54 Centre for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Spain 7.91 7.17 24 -7.0% Decrease
55 The Aerospace Corporation, United States of America (USA) 5.17 7.06 28 40.1% Increase
56 Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), South Korea 3.04 6.97 19 134.9% Increase
57 American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), United States of America (USA) 9.11 6.94 37 -21.9% Decrease
58 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia 7.30 6.91 53 -2.9% Decrease
59 Buck Institute for Research on Aging, United States of America (USA) 12.62 6.77 18 -45.0% Decrease
60 Center for Scientific Studies (CECs), Chile 9.18 6.57 16 -26.6% Decrease
61 Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), Spain 6.47 6.26 30 -0.7% Decrease
62 Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC), Italy 7.93 6.18 33 -20.1% Decrease
63 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), United States of America (USA) 7.56 6.04 19 -18.1% Decrease
64 National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Italy 8.32 5.87 37 -27.7% Decrease
65 Universities Space Research Association (USRA), United States of America (USA) 4.60 5.85 95 30.4% Increase
66 Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Australia 4.65 5.80 28 27.9% Increase
67 Van Andel Research Institute (VAI), United States of America (USA) 5.21 5.53 28 8.8% Increase
68 Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Netherlands 2.66 5.53 44 112.9% Increase
69 Allen Institute, United States of America (USA) 2.64 5.37 15 108.8% Increase
70 Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Australia 7.82 5.33 28 -30.1% Decrease
71 Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM), Canada 6.52 5.26 20 -17.2% Decrease
72 High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT), United States of America (USA) 3.12 5.13 21 68.6% Increase
73 Wetsus Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Netherlands 2.88 4.78 19 70.1% Increase
74 Cluster of Excellence - Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), LMU, Germany 8.38 4.73 36 -42.1% Decrease
75 European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL), Germany 1.53 4.63 35 211.4% Increase
76 Russian Quantum Center (RQC), Russia 3.20 4.61 23 47.8% Increase
77 Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), International 5.03 4.61 35 -6.2% Decrease
78 Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), United States of America (USA) 6.53 4.58 16 -28.1% Decrease
79 National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics (NICPB), Estonia 3.77 4.53 75 23.2% Increase
80 Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), UChicago, United States of America (USA) 5.97 4.45 22 -23.4% Decrease
81 European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF), Belgium 3.63 4.43 22 25.2% Increase
82 National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), Taiwan 5.53 4.41 27 -18.2% Decrease
83 Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India 4.35 4.41 34 4.0% Increase
84 Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Luxembourg 2.80 4.38 16 60.2% Increase
85 Santa Fe Institute (SFI), United States of America (USA) 5.14 4.34 31 -13.4% Decrease
86 Planetary Science Institute (PSI), United States of America (USA) 4.14 4.29 33 6.4% Increase
87 TUM Cluster of Excellence - Origin and Structure of the Universe (Excellence Cluster Universe), Germany 3.69 4.29 48 19.3% Increase
88 National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia, Slovenia 3.96 4.23 15 9.5% Increase
89 Cluster of Excellence - Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI), UHH, Germany 2.46 4.20 29 75.2% Increase
90 National Center for Theoretical Sciences (NCTS), MOST, Taiwan 2.07 4.20 28 107.8% Increase
91 Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD), United States of America (USA) 2.50 4.19 17 72.1% Increase
92 SRI International, United States of America (USA) 7.67 4.18 24 -44.1% Decrease
93 Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), Portugal 3.17 4.12 24 33.2% Increase
94 J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), United States of America (USA) 6.18 4.11 22 -31.9% Decrease
95 Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI), United States of America (USA) 2.70 4.08 18 54.8% Increase
96 The James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 1.19 4.05 17 249.0% Increase
97 Leloir Institute, CONICET, Argentina 5.51 4.05 10 -24.6% Decrease
98 Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC), Japan 1.26 3.83 19 211.3% Increase
99 Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Norway 2.50 3.78 23 55.2% Increase
100 Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), HBKU, Qatar 1.93 3.78 7 100.6% Increase

Footnote

Each year, the Nature Index publishes tables based on counts of high-quality research outputs in the previous calendar year. Users please note:

  1. The data behind the tables are based on a relatively small proportion of total research papers, they cover the natural sciences and health sciences only and outputs are non-normalized (that is, they don’t reflect the size of the country or institution, or its overall research output).
  2. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 145 natural-science and health-science journals. The journals were selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields. The list is reviewed periodically and journals may be removed or added. Articles from eLife were no longer included in the Nature Index from 2023 after the journal changed its publishing model.
  3. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals.
  4. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at nature.com/nature-index/.
  5. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Nature Index database undergoes regular updating, corrections, adjustment of institutional hierarchies, and removal of retracted papers and thus the live website can differ from the frozen research leaders.