A visual analysis of NSF thesis research in biosafety from 2001 to 2022

Abstract

This paper aims to conduct a literature visualization analysis of Chinese papers published by National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC)-funded projects in the field of biosafety in China from the year 2001 to the year 2022. Methods: From the China Knowledge Network database, we set the time period from 1 January 2001 to 31 October 2022 and the Chinese journal literature funded by NSFC projects. The association between the authors of the papers was analyzed using VOSviewer1.6.18. Moreover, CiteSpace6.1.R3 was used to visualize the paper's institutional collaboration, the keywords and the timeline of the papers. Results: It revealed that a few teams, including Tong Yigang, Zhou Yusen, Yang Ruifu and Cao Wuchun as the core, were involved in the NSFC-funded biosafety field. The State Key Laboratory of Biosafety of Pathogenic Microorganisms was the main institutional undertaking unit, and inter-institutional collaboration was more dispersed. Research frontiers are focused on the prevention and management of major emerging and emergent infectious diseases, biotechnology development, application, identification, evaluation and management of unknown risks, etc. Conclusion: From year 2000 to year 2022, the biosafety field focused on funding infectious diseases and epidemiology, and the research direction concentrated on the hot events of society, the development trend of science and technology and national strategic needs. However, there was a trend toward financing being excessively focused in a small number of units and teams and away from the field of microbial drug resistance. It is suggested that the NSFC guidelines and directions should include special projects related to microbial drug resistance, and the selection of projects should be appropriately enriched in terms of research teams, research institutions and research directions.