Publications

An Interesting Observation About Citation Patterns

Ironically, my most impactful contributions turned out to be in biochemistry and immunology, despite never having studied biology or chemistry (and still not knowing them well). This is largely due to the significant differences in citation patterns between fields. My contributions in these areas are primarily software-based - developing tools and databases like VDJdb that enable other researchers to conduct their biological research more effectively. It's much harder to accumulate citations in pure mathematics, where papers are read by a smaller, specialized community, compared to biology fields where research involves many collaborators and reaches a broader audience. While my overall percentage contribution in biology papers is lower due to larger author lists, the visibility and impact of the software tools I've built are significantly higher, as they serve as essential infrastructure for the broader research community.