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Required Form for Manuscript Submission

Last updated April 29, 2008

JEM Instructions for Authors

1. Journal Scope

The Journal of Experimental Medicine publishes papers on physiological, pathological, and molecular mechanisms that encompass the host response to disease. Areas covered include, but are not limited to, immunology and inflammation, microbial pathogenesis, cancer biology, stem cell biology, hematopoiesis, and vascular biology. Papers must be of broad interest and clear in vivo relevance. A high priority is given to studies that substantially advance our understanding of disease processes and the host response in humans. The Journal does not publish manuscripts containing purely descriptive observations or reports of new techniques in the absence of new biological insight.

Experimental Animals and Human Subjects. All animal and human studies must be approved by the authors' Institutional Review Board(s) or a similar overseeing body, and a statement to this effect should be included in Materials and Methods. All clinical investigation must have been conducted according to the principles expressed in the Helsinki Declaration.

Access to Materials and Data. Publication in the JEM implies that authors are prepared to freely distribute any materials used in published experiments to academic researchers for their own use. The Journal will publish nucleic acid sequences, protein sequences, crystallographic structures, and microarray data only if the data have been deposited in the appropriate public database. Microarray data should be MIAME compliant. The relevant database accession number must be provided in the manuscript text, and the data must be freely accessible from the time of publication.

Competing Financial Interests. All authors are expected to disclose any commercial affiliations or consultancies, stock or equity interests, or patent-licensing arrangements that could be considered to pose a financial conflict of interest regarding the submitted manuscript. Potential conflicts of interest must be described in the Acknowledgements section. If there are no potential financial conflicts of interest, please add the following statement to the Acknowledgements section: "The authors have no conflicting financial interests." All funding sources, institutional and corporate, should be credited in the Acknowledgments section.

Review Process. All submitted manuscripts are evaluated initially by at least two Editors who have a working knowledge of the relevant field. Every effort is made to return nonreviewed manuscripts within 10 days and reviewed manuscripts within 4 weeks. Papers submitted by members of the editorial board are handled separately by the Executive Editor and undergo anonymous peer review.

Prior Publication. When submitting a manuscript, the authors should affirm that no similar paper (including book chapters) has been or will be submitted elsewhere (other than as an abstract <400 words in length and containing no figures). Any unpublished articles that are related to, or could be perceived to overlap with the submitted manuscript must be included to aid reviewers. The data presented in a submitted manuscript should not be made available prior to publication in any article listed in a public citation database or in a book identified with an ISBN. If submitted data are posted on a personal website they must not be associated in any way with the Journal (e.g., listed as "submitted", "accepted" or "in press" with the Journal, or posted with a Journal identification number).

Submission to a Public Access database. The complete content of the JEM will be posted on PubMed Central and UK PubMed Central, where it will be available to the public 6 months after the publication date.  There is no need for authors to submit their papers independently to these repositories.  This service is free of charge.

New and revised manuscripts should be submitted online by the corresponding author. From the Journal of Experimental Medicine home page at www.jem.org, click the "Submit" button. If for any reason you are unable to submit online, please contact The Journal of Experimental Medicine Editorial Office:

Phone: (212) 327-8575
Fax: (212) 327-8511
email:jem{at}rockefeller.edu

The author should notify the office if an email acknowledging submission is not received within one working day.

Copyright Policy. Please see our License to Publish

Cover Letter. A cover letter from the corresponding author including the following information must accompany the submission: name, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the corresponding author; a statement affirming that all authors concur with the submission and that the material submitted for publication has not been previously reported and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and a statement regarding conflicting financial interest.

Articles. Articles are fully documented original research papers. They must not exceed 40,000 characters (not counting spaces) with no more than 10 display items (Figures and Tables), and fewer than 80 references. The character count includes all sections except the Materials and Methods and References. We recommend that the Materials and Methods section be kept to ~5,000 characters. Failure to adhere to paper length or figure number restrictions will result in the return of papers without scientific evaluation. Articles contain the following sections, in this order: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Results, Discussion, Materials and Methods, Acknowledgments, References, Figure Legends, Tables.

Brief Definitive Reports. Short reports of outstanding interest may be submitted as Brief Definitive Reports. This format is intended for exciting observations that have the potential to open up new avenues of research and can be described in fewer figures and less text than an Article. These papers must not exceed 20,000 characters (not counting spaces) with no more than 5 display items and a maximum of 30 references. The character count includes all sections except the Materials and Methods and References. We recommend that the Materials and Methods section be kept to ~2,500 characters. BDRs contain the same sections as Articles; however, Results and Discussion must be combined.

Commentaries. Personal perspectives on recent scientific developments are solicited by the Editors. If you would to like to submit a Commentary proposal please contact the jem{at}rockefeller.edu.

Formats. The manuscript should be submitted as a Microsoft Word (DOC) file or a rich text file (RTF). For review purposes only, the complete manuscript, including figures, may be submitted as a single PDF file. Manuscripts must be paginated and double-spaced throughout. Use Symbol font for all Greek characters.

Title Page. Total character counts (not counting spaces) must be included on the title page. Include a title of less than 130 characters and spaces avoiding punctuation, full names of all authors, department(s), institution(s), city, state, postal code, and country where the work was performed. Provide a condensed title of no more than 50 characters and spaces as a running foot. State the complete name, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the author to whom reprint requests and page proofs should be addressed. If you wish to have two corresponding authors listed for the paper, you must designate one of them to communicate with the editorial and production offices. Designate footnotes to author/affiliation sections using superscript numbers. Any change in authorship or the title during or after the course of review will have to be approved by all authors, and a new copyright assignment form signed by all authors must be submitted.

All nonstandard abbreviations must be listed on the title page.

Abbreviations. The Journal's standard abbreviations (e.g., IL, HIV, IFN) do not need to be spelled out, except in the Abstract. When using nonstandard abbreviations, the full term should be spelled out on first appearance and the abbreviation should be used consistently thereafter. Nonstandard abbreviations should be listed on the title page of the manuscript. The Abstract (<200 words) should provide a clear statement of the findings and thrust of the data that is accessible to the nonspecialist reader. References should not be included in the Abstract except where unavoidable and then should be given parenthetically and in full.

Results. The text should be presented with concise, accurate subheadings and all the data must be original, fully labeled, and essential.

Discussion. The discussion should enrich but not repeat the material covered in the previous section. In Brief Definitive Reports, Results and Discussion sections are combined.

Materials and Methods. Sufficient guidance to repeat and extend the experiments should be provided. All reagents must be accessible to others in the scientific community. A paragraph providing a brief description of each online supplemental item must appear at the end of this section under the heading "Online Supplemental Material."

References. References should be included as a numbered list in the order in which they appear in the text. Cite references in text using a number in parentheses placed on line (do not superscript). Do not format references as endnotes. Include all the authors' names (do not use "et al.") and complete article titles with inclusive pagination. Abbreviate the names of journals according to PubMed. Spell out the names of unlisted journals.

Adhere to the format provided by the following examples:

Two authors
1. Bevan, M., and P. Fink. 1978. The influence of thymus H-2 antigens on the specificity of maturing and killer and helper cells. Immunol. Rev. 42:3-19.

More than two authors
2. Julius, M., E. Simpson, and L. Herzenberg. 1973. A rapid method for the isolation of functional thymus-derived lymphocytes. Eur. J. Immunol. 3:645-649.

In press
3. Myers, L. K., J. M. Stuart, and A. H. Kang. 1990. A CD4 cell is capable of transferring suppression of collagen-induced arthritis. J. Clin. Immunol. In press.

Online published article with only DOI
4. Tang, C., and J. P. Klinman. 2001. The catalytic function of bovine lysyl oxidase in the absence of copper. J. Biol. Chem. doi:10.1074/jbc.C100138200.

Complete books
5. Myant, N. B. 1981. The Biology of Cholesterol and Related Steroids. Heinemann Medical Books, London. 882 pp.

Articles in books
6. Pink, J. R. L., O. Lassila, and O. Vainio. 1987. B-lymphocytes and their self-renewal. In Avian Immunology. A. Toivanen and P. Toivanen, editors. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. 65-78

Numbered references are only for published material. Conference abstracts cannot be included as numbered references. Unpublished material should not appear in the reference list. Citations such as "manuscript in preparation," "manuscript submitted," "unpublished results," "unpublished observation," and "data not shown," must appear parenthetically in the text as "unpublished data." When a person(s) who is not an author of the article is the source of unpublished data, those data must be cited as a "personal communication." In the case of "personal communications," authors must provide us with an email or signed letter of permission from the source of the communication authorizing the authors to cite the communication.

Figure Legends. Include a short title after the figure number. In addition, a short explanation may be given in sufficient detail to make the data intelligible without reference to the text (ideally figure legends should be no more than 150 words). Methods described in detail in the Materials and Methods section should not be repeated in the legend. Symbols used in the figure must be explained in the figure legend.

Tables. Tables should always use rows and columns to correlate two variables. Double space tables on pages separate from the text and make them self-contained and self-explanatory. Do not divide into sub tables and do not use vertical rules. Label each table at the top with a Roman numeral followed by the table title. Insert explanatory material and footnotes below the table. Designate footnotes using lowercase superscript letters (^{a, b, c}) reading horizontally across the table. Supply units of measure at the heads of the columns. Abbreviations that are used only in a table should be defined in the footnotes to that table.

Equations. Word 2007 users please note: With Word 2007 Microsoft has introduced a new proprietary math editor as the default editor for equations, but there are incompatibilities which prevent us from using equations created with this new editor.  Please use the Design Science Equation Editor (formerly the default Word editor) or MathType rather than the new default math editor featured in the Insert ribbon.  To use either Equation Editor or MathType, in the Insert ribbon, click “Object” and choose object type “Microsoft Equation 3.0” or “MathType Equation.”   The Equation Editor toolbar or MathType window will appear and will work as in previous versions of Word.

Style. Use American-English spelling and minimize the use of nonstandard abbreviations. For biochemical abbreviations, use those currently recommended by The Journal of Biological Chemistry in its instructions to authors. Italicize genes and loci, and use approved names listed in the appropriate nomenclature database. Avoid using multiple names for genes and proteins; alternative names should be given on first mention only. For special materials and equipment, give the manufacturer's name. Capitalize trade names and indicate registered trademarks. Give the formal, chemical name of a compound as established by the international convention after the first use of the trivial name. Thereafter, the trivial name may be used. Use the metric system and the Systeme International d'Unites (SI) as noted in the Standard Abbreviations list. Abbreviate units of measure only when used with numbers. Specify estimates of variance (e.g., SD, SE) and give references for statistical methods.

Figures must be clearly labeled and cited in numerical order in the text. Figures can contain multiple panels (labeled A, B, C, etc.) only if the data are directly related. Prepare figures at publication size. Single-column figures must not exceed 8. 25 x 23. 5 cm. Double-column figures must not exceed 17. 5 x 23. 5 cm. Lettering should be sans serif (Helvetica or Arial) and approximately 10 pt size. Symbols used in figures must be explained in the legend.

File Formats. Acceptable file formats are EPS or TIFF. Please note that files saved in TIFF format within the PowerPoint application are not high enough resolution for publication.

Black and White Photographs. Image resolution must be at least 300 dpi at publication size. To check the size and resolution of the image in Adobe Photoshop, select "Image Size" in the "Image" menu. Make sure the "Resample Image" box in "Image Size" dialog window is not checked and the "Width," "Height," and "Resolution" boxes are linked by the graphic chain. This will mean that no resolution (i.e., dots or data) is lost when reducing the dimensions of an image and that the machine does not add dots to an image when increasing its dimensions. Set the print size to the desired size of the image in the printed journal and make sure that the resolution at this size is equal to or above 300 dpi. For gels and blots, the lane width should be 5 mm at publication size. Image files should be grayscale format and submitted as TIFF.

Color Photographs. The resolution must be at least 300 dpi at publication size. Please submit TIFF files in RGB format. For published manuscripts, image files will be posted online in their original RGB format, maintaining the full color of your original files. When saving, always embed any ICC profile you've been working with. All profiles will be accurately converted to Adobe RGB (1998). If possible, we recommend that authors use Adobe RGB (1998) when preparing files. Note that we will still need to convert all RGB files to CMYK for printing on paper and color shifts may occur in conversion. You will not receive a CMYK proof. You can view an approximation of print results by converting to CMYK in Photoshop or Illustrator.

Line Art. Graphs and illustrations should be created in an illustration program (e.g., Adobe Illustrator, not PowerPoint) Use the Journal's standard abbreviations (h, min) in axis labels. Only Times, Helvetica, Arial, or Symbol fonts should be used. Using other fonts may result in lost or improperly converted characters. All color art must be in RGB format. Save as EPS. If you must save as TIFF, files should be at least 1,000 dpi at publication size.

Figures with Photographs and Line Art. Prepare photographic image files in Photoshop at 300 dpi as described above. Prepare line art in Illustrator as above (if you will be importing color images, be sure to create an RGB Illustrator file). Image files should be placed into the file containing the line art. Always embed images, never link. In Illustrator, copying and pasting or dragging directly from Photoshop will embed the image. If you use the "Place" command, be sure to uncheck "Link" in the dialogue box. If you use another illustration program, please refer to the specific documentation for that application (generally there will be a "link," "proxy," or "OPI" option on import which should be unchecked). Save as EPS, always embedding any color profile used. We recommend Adobe RGB (1998). If you must save as tiff, files should be at least 600 dpi.

Flow Cytometry Plots. Label both axes and provide some measure of quantitation, e.g., log10 fluorescence, to make clear the ratio of fluorescence intensity between peaks.

Micrographs. All micrographs must include an unlabelled scale bar that is defined in the legend.

Molecular weights / fragment sizes. Protein molecular weights or DNA fragment sizes should be indicated on all figure panels showing gel electrophoresis.

File names. File names should be alphanumeric. Do not use spaces or special characters.

Image Acquisition and Manipulation. No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, or removed. The grouping of images from different parts of the same gel or from different gels, fields, or exposures must be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (i.e., using dividing lines) and in the text of the figure legend. If dividing lines are not included, they will be added by our production department, and may result in production delays. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the whole image and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original, including backgrounds. Without any background information, it is not possible to see exactly how much of the original gel is actually shown. Nonlinear adjustments (e.g., gamma settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend.   All digital images in manuscripts accepted for publication will be scrutinized by our production department for any indication of improper manipulation. Questions raised by the production department will be referred to the Editors, who will request the original data from the authors for comparison to the prepared figures. Cases of deliberate misrepresentation of data will be reported to the corresponding author's home institution or funding agency.

Numerical data. Error bars on graphic representations of numerical data must be clearly described in the figure legend. The number of independent data points (N) represented in a graph must be indicated in the legend. Numerical axes on graphs should go to zero, except for log axes. Statistical analyses should be done on all available data and not just on data from a "representative experiment". Statistics and error bars should only be shown for independent experiments and not for replicates within a single experiment.

Essential information that cannot be presented in the printed journal, such as large data sets or videos, can be included as supplemental material. Supplemental figures and tables that are not essential for appreciating the conclusions of the paper, but are both useful and important, may also be included online, subject to approval by the Editors. Supplemental material must be cited both at the relevant place in the Results section and in the legends of any related figures. In addition, a paragraph providing a brief description of each item must appear at the end of the Materials and Methods section under the heading "Online Supplemental Material." Figures and videos must also be accompanied by a text legend. All supplemental material must be peer reviewed with the manuscript and approved by the Editors.

As of January 1, 2007, there is a flat fee of $250 for posting of ANY supplemental material.

Videos. Videos must be no larger than 10 MB. We recommend Sorenson or Cinepak compression, although other codecs may be used. However, please do not use Intel Indeo because of incompatibilities across platforms. Color depth should be kept to a minimum, using grayscale for black and white videos. Frame size should be limited to 450 x 375 pixels for best viewing within a browser on most monitors. Videos should be named in order of citation appearance (e.g., video1.mov). We accept .mov, .mpg, and .avi files. If a video is directly related to a figure or table, name accordingly (e.g., Fig4vide03.mov). Please ensure videos are viewable in QuickTime before submitting.

With the cooperation of the authors when checking page proofs, research papers are published within 4-6 weeks of receipt of the final and complete version, including figures and files in the correct format.

Proofs. Rough galley proofs are supplied to the corresponding author as a PDF, along with instructions. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours. Authors will be provided with information on charges for offprints and special services at that time. The cost of authors' text alterations in proof is $4.00 per change. Figure reprocessing at the author's request will incur a charge.

Offprints. An offprint order form must be submitted before the article is released.

Publication Charges. Authors will be charged a rate of US$0.06 per character, not counting spaces, and not including Materials and methods, References, or Tables. There will also be a flat fee of $250 for posting of ANY supplemental material. Color reproduction is free. An author's inability to meet charges will not affect the publication of acceptable manuscripts.

Copyediting and Production. All correspondence concerning the copyediting and production of accepted manuscripts should be addressed to the Journal of Experimental Medicine Production Office:

Phone: (212) 327-8527
Fax: (212) 327-8513
email:jexpmed{at}rockefeller.edu

Cover Submissions. Authors may submit cover images for consideration. The images should conform to our figure guidelines regarding file format and resolution at publication size. Black and white and color submissions are both welcome. A brief cover legend should be submitted with the image. Additional information can be obtained from the jem{at}rockefeller.edu.