SETU researchers named in prestigious Stanford/Elsevier Top 2 percent Scientists Ranking
South East Technological University (SETU) is proud to announce that four of our distinguished researchers have been recognised in the highly prestigious Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists Ranking for 2024. This global accolade honours scientists whose work has had a profound impact on their respective fields Their recognition reinforces SETU’s reputation as a leader in research and innovation, underscoring the university’s commitment to advancing science on a global stage.
The SETU researchers included in this year's ranking are:
- Dr Raja Das, a materials scientist at South East Applied Materials (SEAM) Technology Gateway and expert in nanomaterials, whose research spans physics, applied physics, nanoscience, and nanotechnology.
- Prof. Gillian Gardiner, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and member of the Agri-Food Research Group at SETU's Eco-Innovation Research Centre. Prof Gardiner’s research encompasses agriculture, fisheries and forestry, with a specific focus on dairy and animal science, and microbiology.
- Dr Sweta Rani, Lecturer and researcher in the Faculty of Science. Dr Rani's research focuses on clinical medicine, particularly oncology, carcinogenesis, ophthalmology, and optometry.
- Prof. Marie Claire Van Hout, SETU’s Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Impact has been recognised for her research in public health and health services, including her work on addiction, health inequality and the human rights of marginalised groups.
Notably, SETU researcher Prof John Nolan of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) was included in the 2022 Stanford/Elsevier list.
SETU President, Prof. Veronica Campbell, commended her colleagues on their achievement: "Inclusion in such a prestigious list of the world’s leading researchers is a testament to the calibre of researchers at SETU and the subsequent global impact of our innovation. It highlights the dedication, expertise, and world-class standards of our research and academic staff, who continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and deliver meaningful societal benefits."
The complete list of the world’s most-cited scientists can be accessed via the Elsevier Data Repository.
Dr Raja Das is a materials scientist at SETU's South East Applied Materials (SEAM) Technology Gateway and is an expert in nanomaterials. His research spans physics, applied physics, nanoscience, and nanotechnology.
Raja joined SEAM in November 2021 as a Materials Scientist. He holds a PhD in Chemical Sciences from CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, India. He has 12 years of Research experience in Materials Science.
Prior to SEAM, Raja worked as a group leader at Nanomaterials for Electronics and Renewable Energy Laboratory, Phenikaa University, Hanoi, Vietnam from 2019 to 2021. He was a postdoctoral fellow at University of South Florida, USA and National Institute for Materials Science, Japan from 2014 to 2018.
At SEAM, Raja works on Failure Analysis & Materials Characterization projects, and his work plays an important part in helping enterprises to innovate and grow through SEAM's research based solutions.
Prof. Gillian Gardiner is a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and member of the Agri-Food Research Group at SETU's Eco-Innovation Research Centre. Her research encompasses agriculture, fisheries and forestry, with a specific focus on dairy and animal science, and microbiology.
Gillian has a BSc and a PhD in Microbiology, both from University College Cork. Having worked for a number of years as a Research Scientist in Canada and Teagasc Moorepark, she joined WIT (now SETU) as a Lecturer in Microbiology in 2007. In 2021, Gillian was awarded the title 'Professor' and in 2023 , she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Microbiology. In total, Gillian has more than 25 years of teaching and research experience. She now leads a successful multi-disciplinary agri-food research group within the Eco-Innovation Research Centre at SETU.
A highly experienced researcher, Gillian has published over 106 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, 4 book chapters and numerous papers in conference proceedings. In addition, she is an inventor on two International patent applications. She has a Google H-Index of 49 and her publications have been cited over 9,000 times (Google Scholar). She has obtained over €7.2 million in research funding since joining SETU and she is Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator on a number of projects, many of which have industrial partners.
Dr Sweta Rani is a Lecturer and researcher in the Faculty of Science. Her research focuses on clinical medicine, particularly oncology, carcinogenesis, ophthalmology, and optometry.
Since finishing her PhD, Sweta is actively involved in research, identifying biomarkers in disease and biomarkers for drug response. Her research outputs include 21 peer-reviewed research articles and 4 review articles in high-impact factor journals. She also published 7 book chapters and edited 2 books and her h-index is 20 with more than 3274 citations.
As a research fellow in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, she worked with diverse cancer type including HER2+ breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer. Her work aimed to identify circulating biomarkers using microarray and molecular mechanism of acquired resistance to the drugs. Extensive molecular biology technique to alter the gene expression (transient, permanent knock-down and over-expression) was used, to understand the molecular mechanism of drug resistance.
Recently, her main focus is disease of the eye including corneal burn model, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and dry eye.
Prof. Marie Claire Van Hout is SETU Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact.
Marie Claire holds two PhDs: Sociology of Addictions (2010, Teesside University) and Law in International and European Human Rights (2023, Liverpool John Moore’s University). She has multiple Masters degrees: Health Promotion (2003), International Addiction Studies (2009), Health Professions Education (2017), and Law (2021). She graduated with First Class Honours in Business Studies (2001) from Waterford Institute of Technology.
Appointed Lecturer at Waterford Institute of Technology in 2004, she became Senior Lecturer in 2017. Later that year, she became Professor of Public Health Policy and Practice at Liverpool John Moore’s University, where she also served as Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange and Head of Global Health. She holds Adjunct Professorships in Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., and Portugal, and is Vice Chair of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Life Sciences Panel.
With over €14 million in research funding, her work spans Europe, Ireland, the UK, Africa, and the Middle East, focusing on health inequalities and human rights for marginalised groups. She has published 300+ peer-reviewed articles, including in The Lancet, and consults for global organisations like WHO, the UN, and the EU.
