The Journal of Molecular and Cellular Biology (jmcb) is firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics in support of its mission to promote excellence in pharmaceutical research. We adhere to the principles of integrity, transparency, and ethical responsibility in all publishing activities. Our editorial policies align with international ethical standards, including those established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).
Every manuscript submitted to the journal undergoes a thorough and objective peer review to ensure scientific quality, relevance, and originality. Following an initial editorial assessment for scope, relevance, and basic quality, suitable submissions are sent to independent peer reviewers with subject matter expertise. Confidentiality of peer reviewers is strictly maintained, and publication decisions are grounded in the manuscript’s originality, clarity, and scientific strength.
In complex ethical or regulatory cases, the editorial team may seek advice from external experts or specialized editors to determine an appropriate course of action.
The journal enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Each manuscript must reflect original work and must acknowledge all prior literature through appropriate citation practices. Use of others’ text, data, figures, or concepts without clear acknowledgment is unacceptable. Plagiarism—whether detected before or after publication—may lead to manuscript rejection, retraction, and author sanctions.
Authors must ensure that their work is not being reviewed elsewhere at the time of submission. Redundant submissions or dual publication of similar content without disclosure will be rejected. Prior publication of the manuscript content in theses, institutional repositories, or preprint platforms is allowed, provided it is fully disclosed at the time of submission.
If an article builds upon the authors’ earlier work, clear referencing and justification of novel contributions are required. Significant text reuse, even by the same authors, must be properly cited.
Each listed author must have made a significant contribution to the study’s conception or design, data analysis, or the drafting of the manuscript. The corresponding author is required to verify that every co-author agrees with the content and approves its submission. We encourage the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to specify each author's role.
ORCID identifiers are recommended for all authors, and mandatory for the corresponding author. Authorship changes after submission (additions, removals, or order revisions) must be justified and agreed upon by all authors.
All potential conflicts of interest (financial, academic, institutional, or personal) must be disclosed. These include employment affiliations, consultancies, grants, or intellectual property rights related to the submitted work.
All submitted manuscripts must include a clear statement disclosing any potential conflicts of interest. In the absence of such conflicts, authors are required to include a declaration affirming that none exist. Additionally, all sources of financial support must be listed under a dedicated section titled "Funding Statement".
Authors must present accurate and verifiable data. Data fabrication, image manipulation, and misleading reporting are considered serious misconduct and may lead to retraction and institutional notification.
Where applicable, datasets, raw data, and protocols should be made available upon request or deposited in recognized repositories to ensure reproducibility.
Authors should avoid citing sources solely for the purpose of increasing citation counts of specific articles, journals, or individuals. The journal maintains a strict policy against coercive citation practices by editorial or review staff.
Editors and peer reviewers are expected to act impartially and ethically. They are required to withdraw from the manuscript review process if any conflict of interest is present. Reviewers must ensure that their assessments are professional, unbiased, and kept strictly confidential.
Reviewers must report any suspected ethical issues or prior knowledge of the manuscript to the editor.
The journal reserves the right to reject or retract a manuscript if evidence of ethical violations—such as plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, or authorship fraud—is found. Depending on severity, consequences may include:
All reported concerns are investigated confidentially and fairly. The journal may consult external experts or institutions as needed.
Should post-publication issues arise, the journal may issue corrections (errata or corrigenda), retractions, or editorials to clarify or amend the scientific record. Retractions follow ICMJE and COPE guidelines and are issued when findings are proven unreliable due to misconduct or significant errors.
