Twenty-eight members of CoEHAR are featured in the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists database, bringing international recognition to the breadth and scientific impact of the research community behind the Center.
For the University of Catania’s Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction, this is more than a number. It highlights a distinctive strength: the ability to bring together researchers whose work influences multiple scientific disciplines and connect their expertise around a shared public health mission—reducing smoking-related harm.
The members included span clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, chemistry, artificial intelligence and energy research. This breadth provides a strong foundation for interdisciplinary studies, international partnerships and the development of evidence to inform smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction.
Among them are Riccardo Polosa, CoEHAR’s founder, and Giovanni Li Volti, its director, alongside researchers from the University of Catania and members affiliated with other Italian and international institutions. Together, they represent a scientific network that connects Catania with the wider international research community.
The Stanford–Elsevier database, widely known as the World’s Top 2% Scientists, uses standardized citation indicators to assess the influence of researchers’ publications. Curated by John P. A. Ioannidis of Stanford University, the latest edition was published on 7 October 2026 and draws on Scopus citation data updated to the end of 2025.
The 28 CoEHAR members featured, grouped by their primary scientific subfield in the database, are:
- Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing: Sebastiano Battiato.
- Surgery: Antonio Giuseppe Biondi.
- Endocrinology & Metabolism: Maria Luisa Brandi, Aldo E. Calogero, Rossella Cannarella, Rosita A. Condorelli and Sandro La Vignera.
- Neurology & Neurosurgery: Filippo Caraci and Martino Ruggieri.
- Public Health: Pasquale Caponnetto.
- Cardiovascular System & Hematology: Antonino Di Pino.
- Toxicology: Margherita Ferrante and Gea Oliveri Conti.
- Energy: Antonio Gagliano.
- Nutrition & Dietetics: Fabio Galvano.
- Analytical Chemistry: Giuseppe Grasso.
- Organic Chemistry: Antonino Gulino.
- Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine: Emmanuele A. Jannini.
- Anesthesiology: Luigi La Via.
- Oncology & Carcinogenesis: Caterina Ledda, Paolo Vigneri and Vladislav Volarevic.
- Dentistry: Rosalia Maria Leonardi and Eugenio Pedullà.
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology: Giovanni Li Volti.
- Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging: Stefano Palmucci.
- Respiratory System: Riccardo Polosa.
- Urology & Nephrology: Luca Zanoli.
Inclusion reflects the citation impact of each member’s overall research. Collectively, their presence highlights the depth of expertise within CoEHAR and strengthens its visibility as a partner for institutions seeking to advance research on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction.
For international collaborators, CoEHAR brings together scientific expertise, complementary research perspectives and a shared commitment to evidence-based progress. Its strength lies in connecting these capabilities to address questions that matter to smokers, healthcare professionals and public health.
This community gives momentum to CoEHAR’s mission: developing studies and collaborations that advance understanding, reduce smoking-related harm and help smokers quit through innovative, evidence-based approaches.
