In the survey, published in the magazine's November issue, the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, The Weizmann Institute in Israel, the University of Bristol, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and Dalhousie University in Canada took the top five places outside America.

Princeton University, University of California - San Francisco, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Emory University in Georgia were the top five institutions in the US.

Respondents to the survey represented 119 institutions worldwide and judged such factors as collaboration, team building and working environment.

Christian Carter, Bristol University's Organisational Development Manager for Staff Development, said: "This is a really great achievement and reflects how important it is to the University to develop a work environment that attracts, develops and retains the very best academic staff from around the world.

"The University will ensure it continues to keep Bristol an 'employer of choice' for the very best people."

Top ten international academic institutions:

1. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
2. The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
3. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
4. University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
5. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
6. Dundee University, Dundee, UK
7. Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
8. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
9. Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
10. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Top 15 US academic institutions:

1. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
2. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
4. University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
5. Emory University, Atlanta, GA
6. J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA
7. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
8. Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA
9. The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK
10. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, NY
11. Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY
12. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
13. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
14. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA
15. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY