Two UIC researchers on list of ‘world’s most influential’

John M. Davis, professor of psychiatry, studies the biological basis of mental illness.

Two UIC researchers are among “some of the world’s most influential scientific minds” included on the 2015 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list.

Psychiatrist John M. Davis and health economist Frank Chaloupka are among 3,000 researchers worldwide “ranking among the top 1 percent most cited for their subject field and year of publication, earning them the mark of exceptional impact,” said Thomson Reuters.

The list is based on an analysis of published journal articles and citations considered an objective measure of a researcher’s influence over the past 12 years.

Davis studies the biological basis of mental illnesses and how psychotropic drugs work to treat these illnesses. His research helped introduce the concept that mental illness can be caused by biochemical abnormalities.

He is interested in the role of nutrition on health, particularly heart disease and stroke. His research on the effects that a mother’s diet during pregnancy may have on her child’s intellectual capacity and mental health led to revised Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

Davis is professor of psychiatry and research professor of medicine in the UIC College of Medicine.

Frank Chaloupka, director of the UIC Health Policy Center, looks at the economics of harmful health behaviors like smoking and substance abuse.

Chaloupka studies the effects of local, state and national policies on smoking, substance abuse and other unhealthy behaviors.

His work challenges the idea that many smokers are so dependent on nicotine, they will continue to smoke no matter how much it costs. Instead, he found, increases in cigarette prices — including tax hikes — lead to significant reductions in consumption and smoking.

Chaloupka directs the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on the Economics of Tobacco Control. He is the principal investigator of the UIC research team Tobacconomics.

He served on an Institute of Medicine committee to review Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2020 and the ad hoc National Research Council Committee on the Illicit Tobacco Market.

Chaloupka is distinguished professor of economics in the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and director of the Health Policy Center in the Institute for Health Research and Policy.

Nik Theodore, professor of urban planning and policy in the UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, was a 2014 Highly Cited Researcher.