Who leads Marburg virus research? Gender, geography and funding in authorship, 2008 to early 2023: a bibliometric baseline before the 2023–2025 outbreaks
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Introduction
Between 2023 and 2025, Marburg virus disease reached Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia for the first time. WHO’s 2025 Marburg research priorities make leadership of studies by local scientists a continuing goal. This study describes who led Marburg virus research before these outbreaks.
Methods
I analysed 684 English-language Web of Science papers on Marburg virus published from 2008 to February 2023 (5,700 authorships). Gender was inferred from first names with Gender-API, papers about African countries were identified from their text, funders were harmonised by country and type, and themes were mapped to the WHO priorities. I used Wilson 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and logistic and negative binomial regression.
Results
Women held 35.1% (95% CI 33.9–36.4) of authorships, 41.6% (37.9–45.4) of first-author and 19.6% (16.7–22.9) of last-author positions. Women last authors rose from 15.1% (2008–2012) to 23.2% (2018–2023). Only 14.6% of papers had an author based in Africa. Of 102 papers about an African country, 25.5% (18.0–34.7) had a first author and 23.5% (16.4–32.6) a last author from that country, below benchmarks for infectious-disease research in Africa. Women based in Africa were last author on 2 papers. Of funded papers, 69.0% acknowledged a US funder (24.0% a US defence agency) and 3.2% an African funder. WHO priorities on clinical care, outbreak trials, social science and capacity strengthening each appeared in fewer than 8% of papers. An apparent citation penalty for funded papers disappeared after adjustment (rate ratio 1.07, 0.87–1.33).
Conclusions
Before the recent outbreaks, Marburg virus research was led mostly by men in senior positions and by researchers outside the affected countries, and was funded mainly by US agencies. This baseline can track whether recent African-led responses change who leads the field.
Key messages
What is already known on this topic
Marburg virus research has been mapped by output, country and keyword, and the United States dominates it. In infectious-disease and COVID-19 research, women and researchers from African countries are under-represented in senior author positions.
What this study adds
To my knowledge, this is the first study of who leads Marburg virus research. Before the 2023–2025 outbreaks, women held one in five last-author positions, only one in four papers about an African country had a first author from that country, and 69% of funded papers acknowledged a US funder. WHO priorities on clinical care, outbreak trials, social science and capacity were each covered by fewer than 8% of papers.
How this study might affect research, practice or policy
The findings give a baseline to track whether recent African-led outbreak responses change who leads the field. Funders can direct support to institutions in affected countries and to neglected WHO priorities, and journals can expect local leadership of research done in those countries.
