2 Indian ENTs get recognised in Stanford University 2025 list of World's top 2% scientists
New Delhi: A total of two Indian otolaryngologists from India's prestigious health and medical institutes have been recognised among the world's top 2% of scientists in the prestigious database curated by Professor John PA Ioannidis of Stanford University, in collaboration with the Elsevier Data Repository.
This honour acknowledges their pioneering research, clinical achievements, and consistent impact on the field. The database of Stanford University for the year 2025 of top-cited scientists provides standardised information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted h-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). The selection is based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a 2% or above percentile rank in the sub-field.
Here are the details of the Indian otolaryngologist included in Stanford University's 2025 list:
1. Dr Alok Thakar
A distinguished and renowned otolaryngologist, Dr Alok Thakar, is a Professor of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. He completed his MBBS and MS (Otolaryngology) from AIIMS, followed by DNB (Otolaryngology), DLO (London), and FRCS (Edinburgh). He trained in Neuro-otology and Skull Base Surgery as a Fellow at Aintree University Hospital, UK (2003), and served as Specialist Registrar in the Liverpool/Merseyside rotation, UK (1995–1997).
His special interests include Neuro-otology, Skull Base Surgery, Vertigo, and Head and Neck Oncology. He has received several prestigious awards, including the International Commonwealth Fellowship (UK, 2003), UICC International Cancer Technology Transfer Fellowship (2007, Germany), Indo-US Science and Technology Foundation Travel Grant (2010), National Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize (ICMR, 2002), NES Gold Medal Award (2000–2001), and the Kamani Charity Trust Prize (AIIMS, 1990).
Dr Thakar has held several leadership positions, such as President of the Neuro-Otological & Equilibriometric Society of India (2011–2012), Treasurer of the Skull Base Surgery Society of India (2012–2015), and Honorary Secretary of the Foundation for Head Neck Oncology (2013–2015). He has also served on editorial boards of multiple international journals, including The Otorhinolaryngologist, Journal of ENT Masterclass, Otolaryngology Clinics – An International Journal, and Otology India.
As an expert member of the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he contributed to national guidelines for the treatment of cancer of the tongue, larynx, hypopharynx, and obstructive sleep apnoea. Dr Thakar has published 284 research papers, including 111 international publications, two books, and 64 abstracts, with six funded research projects as Principal Investigator.
He has delivered 548 presentations worldwide, including 73 international ones. His work has been cited over 300 times internationally and includes a chapter in Scott-Brown’s Textbook of Otolaryngology (7th edition), as well as publications in leading journals like The Laryngoscope, Head & Neck, Otology & Neurotology, and Clinical Otolaryngology.
Dr Thakar has been recognised as one of the top 2% scientists across the world, as per Stanford University's list of 2025. He holds a rank of 480,513 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 508,586 when all citations are included. By the end of 2024, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 7, with altogether 399 citations for 2024 (excluding self-citations).
2. Dr Saurabh Varshney
Executive Director and CEO of AIIMS Deoghar, Professor (Dr.) Saurabh Varshney is a distinguished ENT and Head-Neck Surgeon with over 26 years of undergraduate and 21 years of postgraduate teaching experience. He is a Certified Console Head-Neck Robotic Surgeon and has undergone specialized training in global tobacco control and health management systems.
Dr. Varshney is a Fellow of eight prestigious academies, including the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS), American College of Surgeons (FACS), International College of Surgeons (FICS), and International Hearing Federation (FIHF), among others.
He completed his MBBS (1990) and MS (ENT) (1994) from J.N. Medical College, AMU, Aligarh, and holds multiple additional qualifications including a Post Graduate Diploma in Medico-Legal Systems (PGDMLS), Diploma in Hospital Administration (DHA), and various international certifications from Johns Hopkins University (USA), WHO, and institutes in the UK, South Korea, and Israel.
He has delivered over 12 orations and keynote lectures, 56 guest lectures, and 68 invited talks, and has organised multiple national and international workshops and conferences. Additionally, he has been a member of the WHO SEAR Group on Deafness and held editorial positions in 17 journals, reviewing over 280 scientific papers.
His leadership roles include President of the Uttarakhand State Branch of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India (2015–2020), Secretary of the same body (2005–2015), President of IMA AIIMS Rishikesh Branch (2018–2020), and State Nodal Officer for the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Deafness (2005–2013). He has also coordinated the National Initiative of Safe Sound (2017–2020).
Dr. Varshney has received numerous honors including the AOI Travel Fellowship (1997), Best Teacher Award (1999), International Guest Scholarship (American College of Surgeons, 2004), Commonwealth Fellowship (2011), National Health Award (2017), Distinguished Researcher Award (AIIMS Rishikesh, 2018), ICMR International Fellowship (USA, 2018–19), and WHO Fellowship (Israel, 2019). He has authored over 256 publications in national and international journals, presented 107 papers, contributed eight book chapters, compiled two books, and co-authored seven WHO and Government of India manuals for the NPPCD programme. His special interests include deafness, medical education, tobacco control, endoscopic sinus surgery, and head and neck cancer surgery.
Dr Varshney has been recognised as one of the top 2% scientists across the world, as per Stanford University's list of 2025. He holds a rank of 481,948 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 518,178 when all citations are included. By the end of 2024, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 7, with altogether 122 citations for 2024 (excluding self-citations).
