Editorial Process

All submissions are initially assessed by a dedicated scientific editor. All research manuscripts published in Life Science Alliance are subject to peer review. Life Science Alliance has 5 academic editors who, in addition to contributing to editorial decisions, are also involved in shaping editorial policy and scope. These editors are identified on Life Science Alliance masthead and website. They serve three-year terms that can be renewed once. Editors are added and renewed by the Executive Editor. The Editorial Advisory Board may be consulted by the editors for advice, arbitration, or peer review.

The Executive Editor is appointed by the three alliance partners (EMBO Press, Rockefeller University Press, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press).

Research manuscripts judged by the editors to be potentially suitable for publication in Life Science Alliance with realistic experimental revision are sent out for formal peer review. Manuscripts are typically reviewed by three appropriate independent experts. Authors may exclude a small number of experts if they are concerned of a conflict of interest or bias.

Referee Cross-commenting: Referees are routinely invited to comment on each other’s reports and may discuss issues under moderation of the editors. Referees are not informed of each other’s identities.

Based on the arguments and recommendations of the referees, the academic editors and the executive editor decide whether to offer publication or revision, or whether to reject the manuscript. This decision might involve further consultation with the referees, advisory experts and/or the authors. Revisions are invited only for manuscripts that have a high probability of acceptance after one major round of experimental revision.

Authors may appeal decisions if there is concrete evidence for a misunderstanding or mistake at the editorial or referee level. Appeals are evaluated in depth and without prejudice.

Transparent Process: To facilitate transparency, Life Science Alliance has no ‘Confidential Comments’ on the referee reporting forms. This is to ensure that the authors receive all information pertinent to the decision made on a manuscript. Referees should be aware that all comments will be transmitted to the authors and the other referees. Should there be any issues with the manuscript, in particular, concerns about ethical standards, data integrity, biosecurity, or conflicts of an academic or commercial nature that need to be communicated directly and confidentially to the editor, this can be done by email.

Life Science Alliance makes the editorial process transparent for all accepted manuscripts that were directly submitted to Life Science Alliance or initially reviewed at EMBO Press journals or Journal of Cell Biology (JCB) and subsequently transferred with referee reports to Life Science Alliance. For these manuscripts, all formal correspondence between authors and editors relevant to the decision process, as well as the overall timeline of the editorial and publishing process will be published as an online supplementary document. Referee anonymity will be maintained unless the referee decides to sign the report (open peer review). Authors who are, for specific reasons or as a matter of principle, not comfortable with these disclosures will have the possibility to opt out of the transparent process at any stage prior to publication. Authors may request that data specifically included in the response to referees and intended for publication elsewhere be redacted from the document. It is the authors’ responsibility to notify the editorial office should such redaction be needed.

Scooping Protection

Temporary update to scooping protection policy

We are aware that many laboratories cannot function at full efficiency during the current COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and have therefore extended our ‘scooping protection policy’ to cover the period required for a full revision to address the experimental issues highlighted in the editorial decision letter. Please contact the scientific editor handling your manuscript to discuss a revision plan should you need additional time, and also if you see a paper with related content published elsewhere.

Other papers published in peer-reviewed journals or manuscripts posted on recognized preprint servers after submission of a manuscript to Life Science Alliance are not considered relevant to the editorial assessment of the submitted manuscript.

A manuscript submitted to Life Science Alliance is subject to scooping protection from the day of submission to Life Science Alliance, and this extends through the agreed revision period. For manuscripts invited to be transferred to Life Science Alliance, scooping protection applies from the day of submission to journals at EMBO Press, Rockefeller University Press, or Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, provided the manuscript is submitted to Life Science Alliance within 4 months post transfer invitation.

Scooping Protection also applies from the day of posting a manuscript on a recognized preprint server in substantially the same form as the manuscript submitted to Life Science Alliance, provided the manuscript is submitted to Life Science Alliance within 4 months of posting.

Note that related papers, and where appropriate preprints, have to be cited appropriately if they are published before the manuscript proofs stage.

Note that scooping protection does not apply to related papers with an overlapping set of authors.

Please inform editors as soon as you become aware of other studies directly relevant to your study. Conceptually related studies formally published elsewhere must be cited (citations can be added at proofs stage where necessary).

Related manuscripts submitted, in press or published elsewhere must be declared at submission and cited where appropriate. It is at the discretion of the editors whether prior publication of such related material prevents subsequent publication in the Life Science Alliance.

Appeals

Authors may appeal decisions if there is concrete evidence for a misunderstanding or mistake at the editorial or referee level. Appeals are evaluated in depth and without prejudice.

Transfer policies

Life Science Alliance is editorially independent of its publishers and partner journals.

Life Science Alliance accepts manuscripts rejected from journals at EMBO Press, Rockefeller University Press, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press by following the instructions appended to the editorial decision letter. Manuscripts should be transferred in a timely manner. Both peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed manuscripts can be transferred. Manuscripts transferred post review will automatically include the referees’ reports and identities of referees (unless the referee has opted out), and authors are invited to include a point-by-point rebuttal and a revised manuscript as part of the transfer. The editors will aim to use the transferred referee reports in arriving at a rapid decision – where necessary, they may involve an arbitrating expert, who is asked to adjudicate based on the information provided by the authors and referees. Editors may choose to seek additional advice from referees or advisory board members in cases where this would enhance informed decision-making. Authors of papers invited to transfer their manuscript to Life Science Alliance with or without referee reports are given a commitment prior to submission for either publication, when necessary subject to revision, or peer review. 

Transfers of manuscripts with referee reports from non-partner journals to Life Science Alliance are also possible at the editors’ discretion. If anonymous, authenticated referee reports are available, the editors will aim to work with this information to arrive at a timely decision without entering a de novo review process. This may involve expert advice in an adjudicating function. Please contact the editors to discuss options. Life Science Alliance is committed to a rapid, efficient and fair editorial process.

Life Science Alliance invites authors to have reviewer reports and referee identities confidentially transferred by the editor to another recognized journal to minimize futile review cycles.