CIFAR fellows named to Thomson Reuters list of Nobel-caliber scientists

Two CIFAR fellows have been named by Thomson Reuters to its 2014 list of "Nobel-class" Citation Laureates. The selection uses data on scientific citations to list the most influential researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine and economics, and since 2002 has predicted 35 Nobel Prize winners.

Named were CIFAR Senior Fellow Stephen W. Scherer (University of Toronto), in the program in Genetic Networks; and CIFAR Senior Fellow Philippe Aghion (Harvard University), in the program in Institutions, Organizations & Growth.

Scherer was named in medicine for his work with colleagues Charles Lee and Michael H. Wigler for their research clarifying how specific genetic variations link to disease.

Aghion was named in economic sciences along with his colleague Peter W. Howitt (Brown University) for contributions to Schumpeterian growth theory.

Each year Thomson Reuters makes its selection based on analysis of its Web of Science database, which tracks scientific papers and how often they are cited by others.

The actual Nobel Prize winners will be announced beginning Oct. 6.

Provided by Canadian Institute for Advanced Research