Academic influencers: Clinical and Translational Science scholars and trainees at the intersection of influential scholarship and public attention

TL;DR

This study examines how clinical and translational science research supported by grants gains public attention, showing that factors like high impact factors and topics like COVID-19 increase visibility.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel framework for evaluating translational research impact through altmetrics and public engagement indicators.

Findings

Supported research was cited in over 64,000 news articles and 480,000 X (Twitter) posts.

Public attention was strongly linked to topics like COVID-19 and higher journal impact factors.

Regression analysis identified factors like post-2020 publication and Mendeley downloads as predictors of altmetric attention.

Abstract

Clinical and Translational Science trainees are motivated to publish influential
research. However, the extent to which this work gains influence with the public is
largely unknown.

The authors identified over 30,000 publications that received KL2 or TL1 grant support
through a Clinical and Translational Science Awards hub, from 2006 through January 2024.
The Altmetric Explorer database was then used, to collect references in sources such as
news articles, tweets, and blogs. We investigated bibliometric characteristics and
content areas, provide illustrative examples of influence, and determine the
characteristics most likely to gain public attention.

Articles were published in 3,923 journals with a mean Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of
5.78, a mean Relative Citation Ratio (RCR) score of 2.02, and were cited an average of
33.7 times, totaling 1,017,291 citations. Over 4,800 were referenced in policy and were
mentioned in over 64K news articles, 7K blog posts, and 480K X (Twitter) posts. The mean
Altmetric Attention Score was 28.9, with 18.5% having scores of 20 or higher. Nearly 30%
were related to COVID-19, indicating close public attention to this important health
topic. Regression analyses indicate that higher JIF, being published after 2020,
receiving more Mendeley downloads, higher RCR scores, being cited by in policy, and
fewer academic citations, were more likely to receive altmetric attention.

By demonstrating how supported research has influence beyond academia to become
“Academic Influencers,” this study represents a significant advance in our ability to
evaluate translational research impact.

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