6 El Paso researchers rank among the world’s top 2% of scientists
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Six Texas Tech Health El Paso faculty appeared on the Stanford-Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List, TTHEP said Monday. The ranking recognizes research impact from across 22 scientific fields.
The named scientists' fields focus on diabetes, heart disease and cancer, TTHEP said. Such conditions disproportionately affect the Borderplex area, according to the school. Focusing on these fields can help improve and extend the quality of life for the community, TTHEP said.
Here are the recognized scientists, according to TTHEP:
Deborah Joy Clegg is the university's vice president for research and a professor of internal medicine. TTHEP said she spent 30 years researching how metabolism findings from studies of men often don't apply to women.
Her research contributed to a federal mandate requiring sex to be included as a biological variable in National Institutes of Health-funded studies, TTHEP said. She moved to El Paso to apply the same framework to Hispanic women in the Borderplex.
Biff F. Palmer is a professor of internal medicine and medical education. His study on obesity is his most-cited work, according to TTHEP. In 2025, he earned the American Society of Nephrology's premier award, the Robert G. Narins Award. Nephrology studies the kidneys.
Debabrata Mukherjee is the chair of internal medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine, TTHEP said. He published more than 500 studies with focuses on generic therapies with results comparable to expensive branded medications, the school said.
Attilio Orazi, chair of pathology, worked with the World Health Organization to develop blood cancer classification systems used in clinical practice around the world, TTHEP said.
Subodh Kumar got a grant to study Alzheimer's disease in Hispanic patients. He said that population is underrepresented in research and early diagnosis in the community "remains essentially incomplete."
The sixth recognized scientist is the late Richard W. McCallum, who founded and built the university's internal medicine department, TTHEP said. His research focused on gastroenterology, which look sat the digestive system and its disorders.
McCallum would become one of the most published figures in his field, TTHEP said. He had more than 600 journal articles, 150 book chapters and 18 textbooks.
His work helped 4,000 people a a year with procedural options for severe gastroparesis, TTHEP said. Gastroparesis happens when the stomach muscles don't move food as they should for digestion, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sometimes it's linked to diabetes.
Later this fall, the university's will mentor the first biomedical doctoral students in Far West Texas, TTHEP said. The Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences has five students concentrating in diabetes, cancer, infectious diseases and neurological conditions.
