Ziheng Yang

56.0k total citations · 27 hit papers
228 papers, 38.9k citations indexed

About

Ziheng Yang is a scholar working on Molecular Biology, Genetics and Paleontology. According to data from OpenAlex, Ziheng Yang has authored 228 papers receiving a total of 38.9k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 158 papers in Molecular Biology, 132 papers in Genetics and 55 papers in Paleontology. Recurrent topics in Ziheng Yang's work include Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies (133 papers), Genetic diversity and population structure (108 papers) and Evolution and Paleontology Studies (53 papers). Ziheng Yang is often cited by papers focused on Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies (133 papers), Genetic diversity and population structure (108 papers) and Evolution and Paleontology Studies (53 papers). Ziheng Yang collaborates with scholars based in United Kingdom, United States and China. Ziheng Yang's co-authors include Bruce Rannala, Rasmus Nielsen, Joseph P. Bielawski, Nick Goldman, Anne D. Yoder, Philip C. J. Donoghue, Maria Anisimova, Mario dos Reis, Willie J. Swanson and William A. Fletcher and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Journal of Neuroscience.

In The Last Decade

Ziheng Yang

222 papers receiving 38.1k citations

Hit Papers

Maximum likelihood phylogenetic estimation from DNA seque... 1993 2026 2004 2015 1994 2000 2005 2000 2000 500 1000 1.5k 2.0k
What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

  1. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic estimation from DNA sequences with variable rates over sites: Approximate methods
    1994 2.3k citations Ziheng Yang profile →
  2. Codon-Substitution Models for Heterogeneous Selection Pressure at Amino Acid Sites
    2000 1.9k citations Ziheng Yang, Nick Goldman et al. profile →
  3. Bayes Empirical Bayes Inference of Amino Acid Sites Under Positive Selection
    2005 1.9k citations Ziheng Yang Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  4. Statistical methods for detecting molecular adaptation
    2000 1.4k citations Ziheng Yang et al. profile →
  5. Estimating Synonymous and Nonsynonymous Substitution Rates Under Realistic Evolutionary Models
    2000 1.4k citations Ziheng Yang et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  6. Probability distribution of molecular evolutionary trees: A new method of phylogenetic inference
    1996 1.3k citations Bruce Rannala, Ziheng Yang profile →
  7. Likelihood Models for Detecting Positively Selected Amino Acid Sites and Applications to the HIV-1 Envelope Gene
    1998 1.3k citations Ziheng Yang et al. profile →
  8. Bayesian species delimitation using multilocus sequence data
    2010 1.1k citations Ziheng Yang, Bruce Rannala Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences profile →
  9. Codon-Substitution Models for Detecting Molecular Adaptation at Individual Sites Along Specific Lineages
    2002 1.1k citations Ziheng Yang et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  10. Bayesian phylogenetic inference using DNA sequences: a Markov Chain Monte Carlo Method
    1997 1.0k citations Ziheng Yang, Bruce Rannala Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  11. Among-site rate variation and its impact on phylogenetic analyses
    1996 978 citations Ziheng Yang profile →
  12. Estimating the pattern of nucleotide substitution
    1994 894 citations Ziheng Yang profile →
  13. Bayes Estimation of Species Divergence Times and Ancestral Population Sizes Using DNA Sequences From Multiple Loci
    2003 879 citations Bruce Rannala, Ziheng Yang profile →
  14. Maximum-likelihood estimation of phylogeny from DNA sequences when substitution rates differ over sites.
    1993 830 citations Ziheng Yang Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  15. Computational Molecular Evolution
    2006 613 citations Ziheng Yang UCL Discovery (University College London) profile →
  16. Bayesian Estimation of Species Divergence Times Under a Molecular Clock Using Multiple Fossil Calibrations with Soft Bounds
    2005 609 citations Ziheng Yang, Bruce Rannala Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  17. The timescale of early land plant evolution
    2018 606 citations Jennifer L. Morris, Mark N. Puttick et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences profile →
  18. Accuracy and Power of the Likelihood Ratio Test in Detecting Adaptive Molecular Evolution
    2001 583 citations Ziheng Yang et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  19. The BPP program for species tree estimation and species delimitation
    2015 547 citations Ziheng Yang profile →
  20. Synonymous and nonsynonymous rate variation in nuclear genes of mammals
    1998 501 citations Ziheng Yang et al. profile →
  21. Molecular phylogenetics: principles and practice
    2012 450 citations Ziheng Yang, Bruce Rannala profile →
  22. Unguided Species Delimitation Using DNA Sequence Data from Multiple Loci
    2014 429 citations Ziheng Yang, Bruce Rannala Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  23. Uncertainty in the Timing of Origin of Animals and the Limits of Precision in Molecular Timescales
    2015 325 citations Mario dos Reis, Yuttapong Thawornwattana et al. profile →
  24. Species Tree Inference with BPP Using Genomic Sequences and the Multispecies Coalescent
    2018 285 citations Tomáš Flouri, Xiyun Jiao et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  25. Phylogenetic tree building in the genomic age
    2020 274 citations Ziheng Yang et al. profile →
  26. Beginner's Guide on the Use of PAML to Detect Positive Selection
    2023 85 citations Sandra Álvarez-Carretero, Ziheng Yang et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution profile →
  27. The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system
    2024 74 citations Edmund R. R. Moody, Sandra Álvarez-Carretero et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name h Career Trend Papers Cites
Ziheng Yang United Kingdom 84 20.7k 15.8k 7.9k 7.0k 6.1k 228 38.9k
Rasmus Nielsen United States 97 17.9k 0.9× 23.7k 1.5× 5.9k 0.7× 6.8k 1.0× 2.5k 0.4× 293 43.5k
Stéphane Guindon France 21 16.3k 0.8× 8.3k 0.5× 7.3k 0.9× 8.8k 1.3× 2.5k 0.4× 39 39.8k
Liang Liu United States 32 10.7k 0.5× 7.3k 0.5× 8.0k 1.0× 6.4k 0.9× 2.9k 0.5× 69 25.9k
Olivier Gascuel France 35 21.0k 1.0× 8.7k 0.6× 6.5k 0.8× 10.8k 1.5× 2.5k 0.4× 136 46.4k
Masami Hasegawa Japan 61 12.2k 0.6× 8.0k 0.5× 4.8k 0.6× 3.9k 0.6× 3.5k 0.6× 232 23.4k
Wayne P. Maddison Canada 52 7.3k 0.4× 10.1k 0.6× 9.6k 1.2× 3.7k 0.5× 4.9k 0.8× 134 24.0k
Bùi Quang Minh Austria 32 22.1k 1.1× 10.8k 0.7× 11.9k 1.5× 11.7k 1.7× 2.9k 0.5× 78 52.1k
Arndt von Haeseler Austria 58 28.4k 1.4× 14.1k 0.9× 12.4k 1.6× 13.2k 1.9× 3.9k 0.6× 192 61.8k
Bret Larget United States 24 9.6k 0.5× 6.1k 0.4× 7.9k 1.0× 6.8k 1.0× 2.6k 0.4× 41 25.4k
Aaron E. Darling Australia 39 15.2k 0.7× 6.4k 0.4× 7.5k 1.0× 8.0k 1.1× 2.0k 0.3× 101 34.1k

Countries citing papers authored by Ziheng Yang

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Ziheng Yang's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Ziheng Yang with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Ziheng Yang more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Ziheng Yang

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Ziheng Yang. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Ziheng Yang. The network helps show where Ziheng Yang may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Ziheng Yang

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Ziheng Yang. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Ziheng Yang based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Ziheng Yang. Ziheng Yang is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
1.
Ji, Jiayi, et al.. (2025). Inference of Cross-Species Gene Flow Using Genomic Data Depends on the Methods: Case Study of Gene Flow in Drosophila. Systematic Biology. 74(4). 566–582. 1 indexed citations
2.
Jiao, Xiyun, et al.. (2024). Hierarchical Heuristic Species Delimitation Under the Multispecies Coalescent Model with Migration. Systematic Biology. 73(6). 1015–1037. 12 indexed citations
3.
Moody, Edmund R. R., Sandra Álvarez-Carretero, Tara Mahendrarajah, et al.. (2024). The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 8(9). 1654–1666. 74 indexed citations breakdown →
4.
Thawornwattana, Yuttapong, Jun Huang, Tomáš Flouri, James Mallet, & Ziheng Yang. (2023). Inferring the Direction of Introgression Using Genomic Sequence Data. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 40(8). 14 indexed citations
5.
Thawornwattana, Yuttapong, Fernando Seixas, Ziheng Yang, & James Mallet. (2023). Major patterns in the introgression history of Heliconius butterflies. eLife. 12. 4 indexed citations
6.
Thawornwattana, Yuttapong, Fernando Seixas, Ziheng Yang, & James Mallet. (2023). Major patterns in the introgression history of Heliconius butterflies. eLife. 12. 4 indexed citations
7.
Thawornwattana, Yuttapong, Fernando Seixas, Ziheng Yang, & James Mallet. (2022). Full-Likelihood Genomic Analysis Clarifies a Complex History of Species Divergence and Introgression: The Example of the erato-sara Group of Heliconius Butterflies. Systematic Biology. 71(5). 1159–1177. 27 indexed citations
8.
Yang, Ziheng & Tomáš Flouri. (2022). Estimation of Cross-Species Introgression Rates Using Genomic Data Despite Model Unidentifiability. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 39(5). 10 indexed citations
9.
Poelstra, Jelmer W., Jan Lüdemann, Ziheng Yang, et al.. (2022). RADseq data reveal a lack of admixture in a mouse lemur contact zone contrary to previous microsatellite results. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. 289(1980). 20220596–20220596. 8 indexed citations
10.
11.
Weber, Claudia, et al.. (2020). Ambiguity Coding Allows Accurate Inference of Evolutionary Parameters from Alignments in an Aggregated State-Space. Systematic Biology. 70(1). 21–32. 2 indexed citations
12.
Jiao, Xiyun, Tomáš Flouri, Bruce Rannala, & Ziheng Yang. (2020). The Impact of Cross-Species Gene Flow on Species Tree Estimation. Systematic Biology. 69(5). 830–847. 33 indexed citations
13.
Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra, Anjali Goswami, Ziheng Yang, & Mario dos Reis. (2019). Bayesian Estimation of Species Divergence Times Using Correlated Quantitative Characters. Systematic Biology. 68(6). 967–986. 25 indexed citations
14.
Flouri, Tomáš, Xiyun Jiao, Bruce Rannala, & Ziheng Yang. (2019). A Bayesian Implementation of the Multispecies Coalescent Model with Introgression for Phylogenomic Analysis. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 37(4). 1211–1223. 117 indexed citations
15.
Leaché, Adam D., Tianqi Zhu, Bruce Rannala, & Ziheng Yang. (2018). The Spectre of Too Many Species. Systematic Biology. 68(1). 168–181. 207 indexed citations
16.
Morris, Jennifer L., Mark N. Puttick, James Clark, et al.. (2018). The timescale of early land plant evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115(10). E2274–E2283. 606 indexed citations breakdown →
17.
Reis, Mario dos, Philip C. J. Donoghue, & Ziheng Yang. (2014). Neither phylogenomic nor palaeontological data support a Palaeogene origin of placental mammals. Biology Letters. 10(1). 20131003–20131003. 67 indexed citations
18.
Yang, Ziheng. (2010). A Likelihood Ratio Test of Speciation with Gene Flow Using Genomic Sequence Data. Genome Biology and Evolution. 2. 200–211. 47 indexed citations
19.
Yang, Ziheng. (2004). A heuristic rate smoothing procedure for maximum likelihood estimation of species divergence times. UCL Discovery (University College London). 27 indexed citations
20.
Huelsenbeck, John P., Bruce Rannala, & Ziheng Yang. (1997). STATISTICAL TESTS OF HOST-PARASITE COSPECIATION. Evolution. 51(2). 410–419. 93 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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