Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah Ranks First Among Kuwaiti Researchers in Surgery - Sarmad

Deputy Minister of Health Sheikh Dr. Salman Khalifa Al-Sabah ranked first among Kuwaiti researchers classified in the field of surgery on the “Stanford-Elsevier” list of the world’s top 2 percent of scientists and researchers, according to the 2026 update.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said the data showed that Sheikh Dr. Salman Al-Sabah ranked 765th out of 146,713 researchers in surgery worldwide, placing him within the top approximately 0.52 percent in his field according to the annual ranking results.

The ministry clarified that this list, commonly known in the media as the “Stanford-Elsevier” list of the world’s top 2 percent of scientists, is a scientific database compiled by a research team led by Professor John Ioannidis of Stanford University, and published via Elsevier’s data repository using Scopus data.

It added that the list evaluates researchers’ scientific presence through a set of indicators, including the number of citations to published research, the h-index, the volume of research participation, and the researcher’s position within the authorship order of studies, and does not rely solely on the number of publications.

The ranking includes two separate tracks: one that tracks research outcomes across the entire scientific career, and another that covers results recorded within a single year. The 2026 update was published on October 7, while its annual list is based on data and scientific citations recorded during 2025.

The ministry emphasized that this high ranking reflects the presence of Kuwaiti researchers in international scientific forums and the growing reach and engagement of Kuwaiti medical research within the global academic community.