From his early dental education at de'Montmorency College of Dentistry in Lahore to an international academic career spanning Saudi Arabia and the United States, Professor Dr Khalid Almas has secured recognition in both categories of the 2026 Stanford–Elsevier database of the world's most highly cited scientists.
Prof Almas, currently a professor of periodontology at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, appears in the latest career-long and single-year research-impact listings, which assess the citation influence of scientists across different academic disciplines.
The 2026 database, released on October 7, draws on Scopus bibliometric information to identify researchers whose scientific publications meet defined international citation-impact thresholds.
For Pakistan's dental community, his continued inclusion carries particular significance. Beyond his international research and teaching career, Prof Almas has maintained an academic connection with Pakistan, including contributing to a published reform vision aimed at strengthening the country's dental education system.
His co-authorship of Dental Education Pakistan (DEP) Vision 2025, alongside Prof Shahjahan Katpar, adds a further dimension to a professional journey rooted in Lahore and developed across several international academic institutions.
Dual recognition reflects career-long and recent research impact
According to the researcher listings published by TOPSCINET, an independent platform presenting information derived from the Stanford–Elsevier scientist database, Prof Almas has been included in both the career-long and single-year categories for 2025–2026.
In the career-long research-impact category, he holds a global ranking of 103,331, with a position of 576 in the Dentistry subfield.
His profile also records an h-index of 37 and a co-authorship-adjusted hm-index of 19.
In the single-year research-impact category, his global position is 219,921, while his ranking within Dentistry stands at 1,035. The corresponding h-index and hm-index are recorded as 8 and 4.
Both listings classify his academic work under Clinical Medicine, with Dentistry identified as his specialist subfield.
Importantly, the two sets of figures represent separate measures rather than an improvement or decline in a single ranking.
The career-long category evaluates accumulated citation influence across a researcher's academic career, while the single-year assessment examines citations received during the most recent reporting year.
Together, the listings provide different perspectives on the reach of Prof Almas's published scientific work, reflecting both his established research record and more recent citation activity.
Understanding the Stanford–Elsevier top 2% scientists database
The rankings are drawn from the science-wide author databases of standardised citation indicators developed by John P. A. Ioannidis and collaborators and published through the Elsevier Data Repository.
The latest update, released on October 7, 2026, uses a Scopus database snapshot taken on August 1, 2026.
It assesses career-long citation impact through the end of 2025, while the single-year category examines citations received during the 2025 calendar year.
Unlike assessments based solely on the number of research papers published, the database uses a composite citation indicator known as the c-score.
This incorporates several measures of scholarly influence, including total citations, h-index, co-authorship-adjusted hm-index and the citation impact of publications according to authorship positions.
The database covers 20 major scientific fields and 174 subfields, providing a framework for examining research influence within different academic disciplines.
Researchers qualify for inclusion by meeting defined composite-score or subfield percentile thresholds, including placement within the top two per cent of their respective subfields.
Although widely referred to as the Stanford–Elsevier top 2% scientists list, it is a bibliometric assessment rather than a prize conferred by Stanford University.
The database's creators also caution that citation indicators have limitations and should not be treated as absolute measures of scientific excellence.
Nevertheless, inclusion in both categories documents the international citation reach of Prof Almas's research publications.
An academic journey beginning in Lahore
Prof Almas's professional career has strong roots in Pakistan's dental education system.
He completed his Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Punjab in 1982 after studying at de'Montmorency College of Dentistry, Lahore.
He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, earning master's qualifications in Periodontology and Dental Public Health from the University of London in 1987 and 1988, respectively.
His additional professional credentials include fellowships from the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Following his early academic appointment at de'Montmorency College of Dentistry, he joined King Saud University in Riyadh, where he contributed to dental teaching and research.
His career later took him to the United States, including academic positions at New York University College of Dentistry and the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.
He subsequently joined Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam, where he has served as a professor of periodontology in the College of Dentistry.
His academic progression reflects sustained engagement in clinical dentistry, postgraduate education, research and professional development across different healthcare education systems.
A contribution to Pakistan's dental education reform vision
Beyond his international scientific publications, Prof Almas has contributed to discussions about the future direction of dental education in Pakistan.
In October 2021, the Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal published a guest editorial titled “Dental Education Pakistan (DEP) Vision 2025: A Way Forward, Towards Progression & Globalization,” co-authored by Prof Shahjahan Katpar and Prof Khalid Almas.
Published in Volume 71, Issue 5, on pages 1509–1514, the paper presented a reform-oriented perspective on how Pakistan's dental education system could respond to changing academic, professional and international expectations.
The authors outlined proposals intended to strengthen dental curricula, postgraduate training, institutional standards and academic development.
Among the central ideas discussed was a proposed transition from the conventional four-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery structure towards a five-year dental degree model.
The publication also advocated broader improvements in dental education, including stronger research activity, academic accountability, professional development, integration of modern technologies and greater international collaboration.
Its central argument was that meaningful improvements in dental education require a coordinated approach to curriculum development, teaching standards, clinical training and the changing needs of the profession.
The editorial represented an academic reform proposal rather than an officially adopted national policy. Nevertheless, it demonstrated Prof Almas's engagement with educational issues affecting Pakistan, extending his professional contribution beyond research conducted at international universities.
His involvement in the publication is particularly relevant to Pakistan's dental education community, where questions surrounding the duration and structure of dental qualifications, postgraduate opportunities, teaching quality and international recognition continue to attract professional attention.
Research spanning periodontology, public health and clinical dentistry
Prof Almas's research interests extend across several areas of dentistry, including periodontology, preventive dental sciences, oral medicine, dental public health and clinical oral healthcare.
His scientific publications have addressed periodontal conditions, oral healthcare practices, professional knowledge and attitudes, and issues relevant to dental treatment and prevention.
Among his contributions is research examining the knowledge, attitudes and practices of dental professionals in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring professional responses to an extraordinary public health challenge.
He has also contributed to studies investigating periodontal risk and related clinical factors among patients in Saudi Arabia.
These areas of research have particular relevance for dental practitioners because periodontal health plays an important role in maintaining teeth, planning restorative treatment and preventing long-term oral health complications.
Research examining the knowledge and clinical practices of dental professionals can also help identify areas where professional education, preventive guidance and healthcare delivery may require improvement.
For academic institutions, such work contributes to the scientific literature used to inform teaching, clinical decision-making and further investigation.
Recognition builds on an established international research career
The latest inclusion is not Prof Almas's first appearance in the internationally recognised citation-impact database.
In January 2021, Dental News Pakistan highlighted his earlier inclusion during an interview exploring his academic journey, professional achievements and perspectives on personal and professional development.
That interview traced his progression from dental education in Lahore to university appointments abroad, including his experience in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
His appearance in the 2026 edition therefore represents continued international recognition of his research citation record.
This latest acknowledgement is notable because it places him in both the accumulated career-impact category and the assessment of citations received during the most recent reporting year.
However, citation rankings should be understood within their scientific context. They measure defined aspects of research influence and do not independently establish clinical competence, teaching effectiveness or the quality of every published study.
Those aspects require separate assessment through educational outcomes, clinical standards and the scientific merits of individual research contributions.
A continuing link with Pakistan's dental academic community
For Pakistan's dental profession, Prof Almas's career represents a connection between locally established academic foundations and international research opportunities.
His progression from de'Montmorency College of Dentistry to appointments at overseas universities illustrates the international pathways available to dental academics pursuing advanced qualifications, teaching and research careers.
His participation in the Dental Education Pakistan Vision 2025 publication further demonstrates that his professional interests have extended to the broader development of dentistry in Pakistan.
Together, his international citation recognition and documented contribution to educational reform discussions offer a wider picture of an academic career concerned with both the production of scientific knowledge and the training of future dental professionals.
As dental education institutions continue to examine research standards, postgraduate development and international academic collaboration, the contributions of experienced researchers with strong links to Pakistan remain relevant to the profession's longer-term development.
The latest Stanford–Elsevier listing brings renewed attention to Prof Almas's research record while also highlighting the importance of sustained scientific inquiry, academic collaboration and evidence-based education within dentistry.
The official Stanford–Elsevier 2026 scientist database is available at: https://doi.org/10.17632/btchxktzyw.9
The Dental Education Pakistan Vision 2025 publication is available at: https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v71i5.7582
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