When ScienceWatch released its latest analysis of high-impact papers published over the past five years in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, HHMI scientists led the pack. Authors affiliated with HHMI had the highest citation total (37,810) of any institution and contributed 199 of the 1,300 high-impact papers during 2002-2006.

ScienceWatch, published by ISI-Thomson Scientific, follows research trends and conducts an impact analysis on a periodic basis, looking at the top 1 percent of the most-cited papers in the field. Now, members of the scientific community from around the world—as well as the general public—will be able to access all original research articles by HHMI scientists, thanks to a policy that took effect on January 1, 2008, that requires scientists to publish in those scientific journals that make the articles and supplementary material freely available within six months via a public repository. PubMed Central (PMC), the digital archive of biomedical and life sciences literature maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the repository for journals in the biological sciences.

The Institute has reached agreements with several major publishers—including Elsevier and Cell Press—that bring their journals into compliance with the policy. In addition, HHMI will continue its long-standing support for open-access journals, including those published by the Public Library of Science and BioMed Central.

Currently, HHMI and the Wellcome Trust are the only major funders of biomedical research to have implemented policies requiring scientists to publish in journals that make the contents freely accessible. NIH-funded researchers will soon be required to deposit original research articles in PMC and to make them available within a year of publication, based on legislation signed into law by President George Bush.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For online resources to assist HHMI scientists and their collaborators, go to www.hhmi.org/about/research/policies.html.