Emerging experts: Whose rank is it anyway?

Traditionally we tend to identify and rank Emerging Experts, by defined metrics – their number of publications, their academic qualifications and awards, their involvement in trials or guidelines.

However, when it comes to Emerging Experts, the increasing complexity of many fields of medicine means that not only is the classic career pathway changing, but these traditional attributes may not be relevant today. Moreover, the evolved world has also opened new opportunities for Emerging Experts committing to certain career pathways.

For example, publication count is a weaker indicator of influence than it once was – it’s highly unlikely that anyone produces a high volume of individually and independently ground-breaking research outputs several times a year, so this marker alone cannot be used to reliably infer academic value of clearly identify the KOLs of tomorrow.

Do awards and prizes help better identify the such leaders of tomorrow? Established KOLs say it’s difficult to verify the value of these in early careers; many established KOLs eventually drop the granularity of their earliest achievements from their current resumes. Furthermore, the value of an award today cannot predict the recipient’s preference, drive, or performance tomorrow.

Perhaps younger researchers attached to large centres are most likely to be the KOLs of tomorrow? We know that there are certain centres of excellence that appear time and time again in our research – and, if we look back over the years, these locations rarely change. Can we at least narrow the pool of potential rising stars by looking at those attached to centres of excellence? In fact, is it actually now more challenging to identify true rising stars in large, fast-moving fields? Does a smaller pool actually reduce the potential of future KOL opportunities, making the identification of emerging experts even more challenging?

With all of these factors in consideration, it’s fair to say that the identification, and even the definition, of emerging experts has to be specific to each treatment area, each market, and each situation; there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

The way the wider world of medicine will be reached and influenced a decade from now will be significantly different from the traditional conference, congress and text-based outputs of today, and today’s emerging experts will be at the forefront of this revolution.

So if your list of current rising stars is based on the measures and metrics you’ve been using for years, you’re probably not fully maximising the importance and potential of rising stars altogether.

Dr Adam Haswell BSc MBBS
Medical Director
KOL Insights at VMLY&R HEALTH (formerly System Analytic Limited)

Email: a.haswell@vmlyr.com
Speak with the team
https://www.vmlyr-kolinsights.com/
Twitter · Instagram · LinkedIn