Biomedical research published by Wellington-based researcher Professor Mike Berridge and his colleague An Tan has achieved the equivalent of a gold medal in scientific circles – it has been cited, or referenced, by 1000 researchers since its publication, and is the most cited original research paper of all time out of New Zealand in the field of cell biology1.
The 1993 paper clarified how a common assay used to measure cell proliferation and to screen for anticancer drugs worked on a cellular level and challenged the global understanding of clinicians and pharmaceutical companies at that time.
Director of the Malaghan Institute Professor Graham Le Gros says, “Every process or procedure used in modern medicine starts somewhere in a lab. The point of publishing data is to offer your findings to the international scientific community to replicate or to critique. Over 1000 international peers have used this paper as a foundation to move their own work forward, and while a layperson might scratch their head and ask how understanding which part of a cell – in this case the part outside the mitochondria – is the key player in this medical test, it gives clinicians and patients confidence that this test for cancer is fully understood."
Professor Berridge is one of New Zealand’s most respected cellular biologists. His work continues to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge, as evidenced by his breakthrough with An Tan on mitochondrial DNA trafficking to tumour cells last year, which was supported by a Health Research Council of New Zealand Explorer Grant.
Characterization of the Cellular Reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT): Subcellular Localization, Substrate Dependence, and Involvement of Mitochondrial Electron Transport in MTT Reduction.
M.V. Berridge, A.S. Tan
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Volume 303, Issue 2, June 1993, Pages 474-482
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003986183713111
Watson and Crick’s paper in 1953 showing the double-helix structure of the DNA has been cited over 5000 times. Achieving 100 citations for a paper is commonly viewed as wide endorsement of a publication.
1 Excludes those collaborating internationally
News article courtesy of the Malaghan Institute