The University of Adelaide (Adelaide Uni)

Australia

At the University of Adelaide, we unite and serve those striving to change the world—and themselves—for the better.

Established in 1874, we’re home to over 29,000 students and 3,000 staff, all working to create progress. For our community. For all. Ours is a university of outstanding quality—ranked among the top 1% globally—in the heart of Australia’s most liveable city¹.

Relentlessly progressive

Adelaide was Australia’s first university to welcome female students. The first to offer science and business degrees. The first with a conservatorium of music.

Among those who’ve studied, taught, or conducted research here are Australia’s first female prime minister; the first Australian astronaut to walk in space; our country’s first Indigenous Rhodes Scholar; Australia’s first female Supreme Court judge; and five Nobel Prize winners.

Exceptional education and research

Our bold spirit continues to drive us to excel. In education, we’re recognised among the top 100 universities globally in 23 different subject areas². In nine we’re inside the top 50; in two we’re number one in Australia.

In research, as a member of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight research-intensive universities, we’re rising to global challenges in a huge range of fields, with work rated ‘well above world standard’ in 41 distinct areas³.

The 2020 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list recognised 14 of our current academics for the scale of their global influence—three in multiple fields. Times Higher Education in 2021 ranked us 62 in the world for research citations, and number two nationally.

Since 2001 our academics have received 13 coveted Australian Research Council Federation and Australian Laureate Fellowships. And in recent years we’ve twice had a researcher recognised in MIT Technology Review’s prestigious Innovators Under 35 list⁴. In 2020, we were the only Australian university represented; in 2019 we were one of just two.

¹Economist Intelligence Unit, 2021. ²Total unique entries across QS World University Rankings by Subject, and Academic Ranking of World Universities by Subject, 2021. ³Excellence in Research Australia, 2018 (the most recent assessment date). ⁴Asia Pacific region.

1 September 2020 - 31 August 2021

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for The University of Adelaide (Adelaide Uni) published between 1 September 2020 - 31 August 2021 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

Count	Share
227	39.66

Outputs by subject (Share)

Subject	Count	Share
Physical Sciences	105	11.10
Life Sciences	74	9.85
Earth & Environmental Sciences	32	5.56
Chemistry	35	16.02

Highlight of the month

Ancient genes point to coronavirus epidemics 25,000 years ago

Ancient mutations that confer some protection against coronaviruses, found in the genomes of people of East Asian ethnicity, suggest their ancestors encountered coronavirus epidemics around 25,000 years ago.

Epidemics caused by RNA viruses are known to have occurred throughout human history.

Now, a team led by researchers from the University of Adelaide has examined the genomes of humans from 26 populations to look for genetic variants that might have emerged in response to exposure to these viruses.

They identified 42 genetic variations in genes coding for proteins that interact with viruses — in particular, coronaviruses — which appear to have been selected for around 900 generations, or 25,000 years, ago in people of East Asian origins.

These proteins are also associated with organs such as the lungs that are especially affected by coronaviruses, and some of the variants may be influencing how people are responding to COVID-19.

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