Two UT Southwestern scientists named Clarivate Citation Laureates
Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., and Michael Rosen, Ph.D., recognized for producing highly cited research
DALLAS – Sept. 25, 2025 – Two UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists – Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Center for Inflammation Research, and Michael Rosen, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biophysics – have been selected as 2025 Citation Laureates in recognition of work deemed by Clarivate to be of the highest impact.
Each year, experts at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information name Citation Laureates based on foundational research papers that rank among the most highly cited in their fields. Since 2002, 83 Citation Laureates have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes.
Drs. Chen and Rosen are among 22 researchers from institutions around the world named Citation Laureates this year by Clarivate, a London-based global provider of transformative research.
“The pioneering discoveries of Drs. Chen and Rosen – from uncovering the cGAS-STING pathway to understanding the formation and functions of biomolecular condensates – exemplify the scientific excellence that defines our institution,” said Joan Conaway, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology, Vice Provost, and Dean of Basic Research at UT Southwestern.
Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D.
Dr. Chen was named a Citation Laureate for Physiology or Medicine along with Andrea Ablasser, M.D., of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Glen N. Barber, Ph.D., of Ohio State University for their joint elucidation of the cGAS-STING pathway, a fundamental mechanism of innate immunity.
Dr. Chen’s discovery of cGAS (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase), an enzyme that senses foreign DNA in a cell’s interior, or cytoplasm, has been recognized with numerous honors including the 2026 Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine; the 2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the 2023 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, and the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Dr. Chen is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine. The Chen Lab is broadly interested in mechanisms of signal transduction, namely how a cell communicates with its surroundings and detects harmful or foreign insults.
“It is very gratifying and humbling that our work is recognized in this way based on citation analysis, especially considering that there are so many exciting discoveries in biomedical sciences that have been published just in the past decade,” Dr. Chen said. “This is a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our research team and a reflection of the outstanding research environment at UT Southwestern.”
Michael Rosen, Ph.D.
Dr. Rosen was named a Citation Laureate for Chemistry along with Anthony A. Hyman, Ph.D., of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and Clifford P. Brangwynne, Ph.D., of Princeton University for research on the role of phase-separated biomolecular condensates in the organization and regulation of cells.
Biomolecular condensates are compartments within a cell that concentrate proteins and nucleic acids without a surrounding membrane. These “phase-separated” structures – which separate much like oil and water droplets – are involved in many cellular mechanisms in health and disease. They represent a fundamental process by which proteins function within the cell.
The Rosen Lab has illustrated how complex behaviors of condensates can be reduced to biochemically tractable problems and simple rules, furthering the understanding of how cells stay organized. Dr. Rosen’s research showed that chemical interactions between multiple parts of large molecules are the key drivers of biological phase separation, and that assembly and disassembly of phase-separated structures can be rapidly controlled by adding or removing chemical groups from molecules.
Dr. Rosen is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Past honors include the 2020 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, the 2018 Emil Thomas Kaiser Award from The Protein Society, and the 2006 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Biological Sciences from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science & Technology.
“I am grateful to be recognized by Clarivate with my colleagues Cliff Brangwynne and Tony Hyman for our discoveries regarding the roles and mechanisms of biological phase separation. This is wonderful for us, for the students and postdocs who did the work, and for the field that we founded based on this new understanding of cell organization,” Dr. Rosen said.
Previous Citation Laureates from UTSW are Bruce Beutler, M.D. (2008), Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, Professor of Immunology and Internal Medicine, and winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Helen Hobbs, M.D. (2024), Professor in the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics; and Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D. (2024), Professor in the Center for Human Nutrition and the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Conaway holds the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Dr. Chen holds the George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science. Dr. Rosen holds the Mar Nell and F. Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair in Biochemistry. Dr. Beutler, a Regental Professor, holds the Raymond and Ellen Willie Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research, in Honor of Laverne and Raymond Willie, Sr. Dr. Hobbs holds the 1995 Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiology Research. Dr. Cohen holds the C. Vincent Prothro Distinguished Chair in Human Nutrition Research.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 23 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,200 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 140,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5.1 million outpatient visits a year.