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Information for Authors

  1. Determining the Suitability of a Manuscript for LSE
  2. Peer-Review Process
  3. License and Publishing Agreement
  4. ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors
  5. Institutional Review Board Approval
  6. Guidelines for Preparing Articles, Essays, and Features
  7. Guidelines for Preparing Digital Artwork
  8. Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Resources
  9. Sharing Materials and Data
  10. How to Submit Manuscripts
  11. Article Publication Charge
  12. Special Policies
  13. General Questions

CBE—Life Sciences Education (LSE) is an online, quarterly journal owned and published by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) in editorial partnership with the Genetics Society of America. The journal publishes original, previously unpublished, peer-reviewed articles on research and evaluation related to life sciences education, as well as articles about evidence-based biology instruction at all levels. The ASCB believes that biology learning encompasses diverse fields, including math, chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science, as well as the interdisciplinary intersections of biology with these fields. One goal of the journal is to encourage teachers and instructors to view teaching and learning the way scientists view their research, as an intellectual undertaking that is informed by systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data related to student learning. Target audiences include those involved in education in K–12 schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges, science centers and museums, universities, and professional schools, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. All published articles are available freely online without subscription. In addition, published articles are indexed in PubMed and available through PubMed Central. 

LSE is published online four times a year: March (Spring issue), June (Summer issue), September (Fall issue), and December (Winter issue). Submissions are accepted at any time. Articles are assigned to particular issues by the editors. Articles that have been edited and typeset before an issue is scheduled for release may be published in advance. Through this “continuous publication” mechanism, issues fill gradually until they are complete. To be included in an issue, manuscripts must be accepted in final form at least two months prior to the publication date. 

Determining the Suitability of a Manuscript for LSE 

Articles. LSE is a venue for biologists to disseminate their educational innovations to others who teach biology, as well as for dissemination of biology education research that is designed to generate more generalizable, basic knowledge about biology education. Thus, LSE publishes two types of articles: descriptions of research that breaks new ground in understanding biology teaching and learning and descriptions of the implementation and evaluation of educational innovations in the life sciences. Regardless of the nature of the work, articles should offer a logical, evidence-based chain of reasoning about the design and methods used to generate the findings and support the conclusions. 

The design and interpretation of studies submitted for publication in LSE should fit the goals of the work. Articles about biology education research should describe how the study was designed and conducted to yield generalizable claims and should be applicable beyond a single course or program. Authors of this type of article are encouraged to draw from the diverse social science theories, methods, and findings to inform their work, and to clearly define terms and approaches that may be unfamiliar to a biologist audience. 

Articles about educational innovations should describe the systematic collection and analysis of educational data and include rigorous reflection about the results with the aim of improving instruction. Such work can be limited to a single course or program, but the educational innovation should be sufficiently novel and the results sufficiently compelling to prompt other instructors to adapt or adopt it for use with their own students. Authors of this type of article must review relevant literature to demonstrate how a particular innovation is unique compared with previously published work.  

Instructors interested in publishing their educational innovations in LSE should give careful thought to how they will assess student learning or other desired outcomes. Answering three questions can help guide the process of assessment: 1) What are your instructional or programmatic goals? 2) What should learners know or be able to do if you met your goals? 3) How can you measure or otherwise document whether learners know or are able to do what you intend? Documentation of intended outcomes can be accomplished through systematic analysis of data collected through diverse approaches, such as pretest/posttest, interviews, focus groups, surveys, or performance on coursework, including exams, papers, or lab reports.  

A measure or measurement accounts for three elements: the instrument used to collect data (e.g., surveys, tests, interview protocols, etc.), the population/sample with whom the instrument is used, and the context in which the instrument is used. With this in mind, robust evidence is needed to support inferences about what observations (e.g., scores) derived from an instrument mean. There are many forms of evidence widely recognized to support the quality of inferences (e.g., AERA 2014Knekta et al. 2019, Campbell and Nehm 2013). For example, if a study aspires to measure some aspect of students’ thinking, there should be evidence supporting the inference that the instrument used for data collection indeed assesses that aspect of student thinking. Authors can provide validity evidence through some combination of 1) using previously developed instruments with published validity evidence in similar contexts to the target population, 2) connecting instruments to established theoretical frameworks, and 3) conducting analyses to assess the validity of an instrument in the local context (e.g., “think-aloud” interviews, factor analyses, etc.). Indirect or self-report measures of learning are discouraged in favor of more direct measures of outcomes. Student satisfaction measures and feedback surveys generally do not provide sufficient evidence of impact. 

Authors should present their innovations in the same way that life scientists present their research: claims regarding efficacy must be supported by evidence. Articles that lack adequate assessment, assessment instruments, descriptions of assessment methods, or references to published assessment instruments or methods will be returned to authors without review. 

All articles must include collection, analysis, and interpretation of educational data, which can be quantitative and/or qualitative in nature. In addition, LSE articles should: 1) address a clear educational problem or education research question, 2) demonstrate clear alignment among the problem or question being addressed, the design of the study or educational innovation, the claims being made, and the evidence used to support those claims, 3) describe how results are applicable or transferable to other settings, 4) be relevant to a defined audience of educators, and 5) make reference to related educational literature. Articles should include a formal Methods section, and any assessment tools (surveys, tests, assignments, interview or focus group questions, etc.) should be included as they were administered to participants as supplemental materials. The source of the assessment tool(s) should be described, including the rationale behind the selection or design of the tool(s). The online nature of the journal facilitates the inclusion of instructional materials such as syllabi, assignments, rubrics, laboratory protocols, or professional development guidelines. Science procedures, protocols, and results that are important for understanding how instruction was accomplished should be included as supplemental materials rather than in the body of the manuscript. 

The following references may be useful for thinking about the design and conduct of biology education studies: 

-Schneider B, Carnoy M, Kilpatrick J, Schmidt WH, & Shavelson R. (2007). Estimating causal effects: Using experimental and observational designs. American Educational Research Association: Washington DC. 

Shavelson RJ, & Towne L, Eds. (2002) Scientific research in education. National Academies Press: Washington DC. 

Singer SR, Nielsen NR, & Schweingruber HA, Eds. (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. National Academies Press: Washington DC.   

-Slater SJ, Slater TF, Heyer I, & Bailey JM. (2015). Discipline-based education research – A guide for scientists, 2nd Edition. Pono Publishing: Hilo, Hawai’i. 

-Weimer, M. (2006). Enhancing scholarly work on teaching and learning. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. 

Essays. LSE publishes essays on timely and important topics related to biology teaching and learning, including assessment methods, student engagement, curriculum innovations, K–20 continuum, and other topics. Essays should describe a problem or approach of general interest and be synthetic across the work of many individuals. Appropriate foci for essays include the introduction of theoretical frameworks, policies, or methodologies known from outside of biology education research but not yet well explored among biology education researchers, or the synthesis of existing evidence that points to areas in need of further exploration by the biology education research community.  The problem or approach should be presented within a scholarly context, citing references and resources that address the topic. If recommendations are to be made, there should be evidence from the existing research literature to support those recommendations. Although it is not a requirement, essays can include ideas for assessment or future research as appropriate. Manuscripts that include claims about the efficacy of a novel instructional approach or a novel curriculum should be submitted as articles. Manuscripts including original data collected by the authors will not be considered as essays and should be submitted as articles. 

LSE also publishes Research Methods essays that offer scholarly and practical advice on biology education research design and methods. Research Methods essays should be written as instructional pieces, identifying common and significant methodological issues. These essays should focus on a single topic, treating it with sufficient depth for readers to understand and be able to take action on the issue, while appealing to a broad audience of biology education scholars and education-interested biologists. Authors are encouraged to be creative in format. For example, Research Methods essays could be scholarly reviews punctuated by practical advice, or in-depth discussions of articles that illustrate exemplary methodological practice. The essays should be concise and accurate yet approachable, clearly defining technical terms and using biology-friendly analogies and examples to illustrate key points. Co-authorship by social scientists and biologists is encouraged. 

Authors considering an essay submission of any type should contact the Editors-In-Chief before preparing their manuscript to ensure appropriateness for the essay track. 

Meeting Reports. The journal publishes occasional reports of meetings related to education in the life sciences. These reports are aimed at giving the LSE readership access to the outcomes from meetings that might have been open to a limited number of individuals. They might conclude by discussing opportunities for future participation by the broader biology education community. Such reports should not merely describe a meeting, but should contain material that can be immediately used by the reader. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:  announcement and description of an ongoing dialogue with an invitation and ways to participate; report of outcomes from the meeting with access to the underlying materials via citations or web resources; compilation and synthetic description of accessible resources described or discussed at the meeting; creation of new opportunities to participate in planned workshops, online dialogues, or the like. Meeting reports received through the normal online submission process will be judged on the basis of their relevance and interest for the broad readership of the journal. Manuscripts that include claims about the efficacy of a novel instructional approach or a novel curriculum should be submitted as articles. Manuscripts including original data collected by the authors will not be considered as meeting reports and should be submitted as articles. 

Authors considering a meeting report submission should share a topical outline of the report with the Editors-In-Chief before preparing their manuscript to ensure appropriateness for the meeting report track.  

Letters to the Editor. A goal of LSE is to stimulate dialogue. In support of this goal, LSE invites readers to submit Letters to the Editor. LSE requires that letters are directly responsive to an article published in the journal. Letters received through the normal online submission process will be reviewed by the Editors-in-Chief, sometimes in consultation with other members of the editorial board, and published at their discretion. Authors considering a Letter to the Editor submission should contact the Editors-In-Chief before preparing their letter to ensure appropriateness for this track. 

Features. Articles listed under the heading of “Features” are by invitation only. Authors interested in contributing to a feature should contact the editors-in-chief. 

Announcements. LSE accepts noncommercial announcements of meetings, workshops, and conferences and of funding opportunities and fellowships open to all. 

Peer-Review Process 

All submitted manuscripts and educational materials are subject to peer review. After a manuscript has been submitted to LSE, the Editors-in-Chief selects an editorial board member to guide the paper through the review process. Editorial board members select reviewers to submit written evaluations. The board member will assess the peer reviews and determine whether the submission will be accepted as is, whether revisions will be required to determine suitability for publication (with or without the need for additional peer review), or whether the manuscript will be rejected with reasons explaining this decision. The corresponding author can usually expect an initial response within six weeks. 

License and Publishing Agreement 

Authors are required to sign a License and Publishing Agreement when a manuscript is accepted for publication. Under the terms of that agreement, authors retain copyright but grant the ASCB a perpetual license to publish the manuscript. Authors also grant to the general public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the manuscript subject to the terms of the Creative Commons–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0). 

ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors 

By submitting a paper to LSE, an author acknowledges that they are subject to the ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors. The policy is posted at www.ascb.org/files/research_misconduct.pdf. 

Institutional Review Board Approval 

Manuscripts reporting on studies involving human subjects must include explicit assurance that the research reported was approved by a local Institutional Review Board (IRB), including an IRB review number, unless the research is exempt from such review according to U.S. Department of Education guidelines. If authors’ institutions do not have an IRB, this assurance should be provided by an individual who oversees responsible and ethical conduct of research and scholarship. Studies conducted outside the U.S. should abide by their institutional and national policy for ethical and responsible conduct of research on human subjects, including education research, and cite this policy in the Methods section of manuscripts. Prospective authors are advised that permission must be obtained in advance. 

Guidelines for Preparing Articles, Essays, and Features 

General Instructions. The following activities prior to submission of a manuscript to LSE do not constitute prior publication and do not preclude consideration of the manuscript by LSE: publication of a short abstract; presentation of data at a professional meeting or in a Webcast of such a meeting; or posting of a manuscript on an author’s personal website, in an online institutional repository, or on a freely accessible preprint server such as arXiv or bioRxiv. Publication of a paper in the proceedings of a scientific meeting generally does constitute prior publication. Authors should include copies of all closely related publications with their submission to LSE. A closely related publication is one that is in press or has been submitted elsewhere and includes some or all of the data presented in the manuscript submitted to LSE

The text should be written in clear, concise, and grammatical English. Manuscripts ordinarily begin with an overview of how the work presented is relevant to the classroom, laboratory, or curriculum and what student outcomes are expected. Whenever possible, incorporate materials by citing relevant publications, without repeating already published works. Manuscript files must be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. 

Tables and illustrations should convey information effectively and must be uploaded separately. Graphs and figures should be provided digitally as separate TIF or EPS files. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of the online nature of LSE. Video, audio, databases, images, animations, molecular structures, and other electronic resources may be linked as supplemental material for further consideration by readers. 

International authors may wish to consider using an editorial service, such as ScienceDocs (www.sciencedocs.com), American Journal Experts (www.journalexperts.com), Editage (www.editage.com), Bioscience Writers (www.biosciencewriters.com), Squirrel Scribe (www.squirrelscribe.com), or Wordvice (www.wordvice.com/). LSE does not endorse any particular service, and cannot be held responsible for the services they provide. 

Length Guidelines. The following manuscript submission lengths are intended to aid authors in preparing their manuscripts; however, submissions outside these ranges will be considered. 

Articles: 30,000–60,000 characters (with spaces), or 5–10 journal “pages”; typically do not exceed 20 journal pages, or 120,000 characters. 

Essays: 30,000–50,000 characters (with spaces), or 5–8 journal “pages”; typically do not exceed 10 journal pages, or 60,000 characters. 

Features: 6,000–12,000 characters (with spaces), or 1–2 journal “pages.” 

Letters: 3,000–6,000 characters (with spaces), or up to half a journal “page.” 

Cover Letter. Authors should submit a cover letter from the corresponding author stating that the work is being submitted exclusively to LSE and indicating why it is appropriate for the journal. If there is a connection between an author and a commercial product being used or reported, full disclosure is required in the cover letter and appropriate statements should be included in the manuscript. (See “Title Page” below.) For article submissions, authors are encouraged to indicate whether their work is best described as research that aims to yield new insights about biology teaching and learning or as the implementation and evaluation of educational innovations in the life sciences. 

Title Page. Page 1 should include the title of the manuscript, the type of manuscript being submitted (e.g., article, essay, feature, letter to the editor, response), the number of characters in the manuscript, a shortened running title (not to exceed 42 characters and spaces), and the names and affiliations (including department, institution, city, state, and zip code) of all authors in the order in which they should appear. List the corresponding author separately with complete postal and email address and telephone and fax numbers. Keywords should also appear on page 1. Include at least five keywords selected from the text of the article. If possible, include a keyword that indicates the target learners (primary, secondary, undergraduate, graduate, general public, etc.). 

If one or more of the authors of a research paper that assesses the effectiveness of a product or curriculum was also involved in producing the product or curriculum, readers need to be fully aware of this potential conflict of interest. Therefore, any potential conflicts of interest should be clearly stated on the title page of the manuscript. The author and the product should be identified, and a statement included that no promotion of a particular product to the exclusion of other similar products should be construed. This will be noted under the byline if the manuscript is accepted for publication. 

Abstract. Page 2 should contain the abstract, which should be no more than 200 words long and should summarize the important points in the manuscript. 

Manuscript Text. The text of the paper should begin on page 3. LSE follows the style guidelines of the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual. For chemical nomenclature, follow the Subject Index of Chemical Abstracts. Capitalize trade names and give manufacturer names and addresses. Do not include figures or tables within the body of the manuscript. A format of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References is encouraged, but other formats may be more appropriate for some topics. Manuscripts should include line and page numbers. 

Accessing Materials. Describe how to access new educational materials if the study or use of such materials is the subject of the paper. If materials are online, provide a URL to the material. Any registration requirements or agreements inherent in the use of the materials should be described. If there are no online materials, simply state “No additional materials available online.” For other new educational materials presented in the manuscript, authors should describe how readers can access the materials, what format is available (e.g., DVD, CD-ROM, PDF files, and html pages), how to request copies, and if there are any costs. LSE encourages provision of materials on a nonprofit basis, but recognizes that this is not always feasible. Please contact LSE with any questions regarding this policy. 

Acknowledgments. Identify financial sources and other sources of support for the research being reported in the manuscript. 

References. Place the reference list immediately following the manuscript text (beginning on a new page). LSE makes use of reference and citation formats stipulated by the most recent version of the American Psychological Society (“APA format”). Only published articles or manuscripts accepted for publication can be listed in the Reference section. Most reference management software (e.g., EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, etc.) have a setting for APA format. APA format should be used for the references and citations only; APA format for the entire paper is not necessary or desirable. Unpublished results, including personal communications and submitted manuscripts, should be cited as such in the text. Personal communications must be accompanied by permission letters unless they are from the authors’ own work.  

Example citations: 

Journal article with two authors: Seidel, S. B., & Tanner, K. D. (2013). “What if students revolt?”—considering student resistance: origins, options, and opportunities for investigation. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(4), 586-595. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe-13-09-0190 

Journal article with more than six authors (list first six authors and last author): Leung, W., Shaffer, C. D., Reed, L. K., Smith, S. T., Barshop, W., Dirkes, W., … & Yuan, H. (2015). Drosophila Muller F elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution. G3: Genes| Genomes| Genetics, 5(5), 719-740. https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.114.015966 

Book: Singer, S. R., Nielsen, N. R., & Schweingruber, H. A. (2012). Discipline based education research. Washington, DC: The National Academies

Chapter in edited volume: Lederman, N. G., Bartos, S. A., & Lederman, J. S. (2014). The development, use, and interpretation of nature of science assessments. In Matthews, M. R. (Ed.), International handbook of research in history, philosophy and science teaching (pp. 971-997). Netherlands: Springer. 

Website: Genetic Science Learning Center. (2015, January 7) Learn.Genetics. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/ 

Conference paper: Henderson, C., Beach, A., & Famiano, M. (2007, January). Diffusion of educational innovations via co-teaching. In 2006 Physics education research conference (Vol. 883, pp. 117-120). 

Footnotes. Call out footnotes at the appropriate place in the text with a superscript numeral. The footnote text should be placed on a separate page after the References. 

Figures. All figures should be uploaded as individual files. 

Figure Legends. Figure legends should appear in numerical order after the References. Figure legends should provide an overview of the figure and details that describe any component parts. 

Tables. All tables must be cited in order in the text of the manuscript. individual table files need to be uploaded separately. 

Supplemental Material. Upload all supplemental material (except in the case of videos) together in one combined PDF. Be sure to upload the final version of the supplemental material. It will be posted online as received and will not be edited. 

Suggesting Editors and Reviewers. Authors are encouraged to suggest members of the editorial board (https://www.ascb.org/publications/ascb-journals/lse-editor-profiles/) with the appropriate expertise to monitor the manuscript through review. Authors are also encouraged to suggest potential peer reviewers who could provide insights regarding the merits and areas for improvement of the work and the manuscript. Please do not include such recommendations in the cover letter, but rather in the appropriate locations in the submission system. Authors should not recommend editors or reviewers with conflicts of interest, including individuals at the same institution as an author, individuals who have published alongside an author in the last 5 years, individuals who are former mentors or mentees, or individuals with a financial relationship with an author in the last 5 years. Authors can additionally request that certain editors or reviewers be excluded from the review process due to conflicts of interest. Note that, while the Editors-In-Chief consider authors’ requests for specific editors and reviewers, accommodation of requests are not always possible. 

Guidelines for Preparing Digital Artwork 

Digital artwork must accompany the manuscript submission. Figures should be uploaded as separate files with the manuscript through the online manuscript submission system. Because artwork must be of sufficient quality for print reproduction, LSE asks that all artwork be prepared using professional graphic art software. Word processing and presentation software packages (such as Word and PowerPoint) are inadequate for preparing high-quality digital artwork. 

Prepare all digital artwork as RGB TIF images, at 300 dpi resolution, or EPS images: 

Figure Size. Prepare figures at the size they are to be published. 

Up to 1 column wide: Figure width should be 4.23-8.47 cm. 

1 to 1.5 columns wide: Figure width should be 10.16-11.43 cm. 

2 columns wide: Figure width should be 14.39-17.57 cm. 

The figure depth must be less than or equal to 23.5 cm. 

Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Resources 

For works using someone else’s electronic resource (such as a database), a letter from the creator or curator of the resource indicating their willingness to support free pedagogical use of their work must be included. The same general rules for evaluation will apply to all electronic submissions. All submissions will be evaluated for (1) pedagogical content, (2) clear description of goals and expected student outcomes, (3) transferability to other settings, (4) appropriateness for the target audience, and (5) references to related educational literature. After publication of the electronic work(s), the authors will be encouraged to submit the work to other databases (National Digital Library, BEN, etc.); however, it is expected that the LSE publication citation will remain associated with the work. This will allow viewers to read a more in-depth discussion of the work. 

All such electronic works must be freely available, and will be hosted on the LSE server or on the ASCB server, with the exception of large databases. This will ensure stable access to the works with a nonchanging URL. 

A manuscript should accompany any electronic submission. The manuscript should describe 1) the learning goals or purpose of the electronic work, 2) the target audience, 3) development of the electronic work (describe hardware and software used), 4) platform availability (see below), 5) a description of any necessary hardware or software, with links to the appropriate sites for downloading (e.g., plugins, helper applications, etc.), and 6) assessment of the work’s impact on student learning. 

Ideally, submitted works should work on any platform (PC, Mac, Unix) and on all browsers. If there are known restrictions, these should be included in the manuscript. LSE can help authors test their works for such limitations if they do not have access to certain platforms or browsers.  

The electronic work may have been hosted previously on any website, but the authors may not have previously published any description of the electronic work other than the associated Web pages. Published journal descriptions of the electronic work will preclude publication in LSE, with the exception of abstracts or presentations at professional meetings. 

The online publication will include hyperlinks to the work that will appear in a new browser window, if appropriate. This capacity could be helpful to the authors since they could provide directions for readers as needed to illustrate particular aspects of the work. The layout and submission process for the manuscript accompanying an electronic work should follow the same general format as other categories. The electronic work should be submitted to LSE at the same time as the manuscript. If this presents a problem, contact LSE staff for assistance. 

Sharing Materials and Data 

Publication of a manuscript in LSE implies that the authors agree to make available, to the extent legally permissible, all propagative materials such as mutant organisms, cell lines, recombinant plasmids, vectors, viruses, monoclonal antibodies, instructional materials, and assessment instruments that were used to obtain results presented in the article. Prior to obtaining these materials, interested scientists will provide the authors with a written statement that they will be used for noncommercial research purposes only. Authors are encouraged to share raw data with qualified researchers who wish to reproduce or further analyze the authors’ work for noncommercial purposes. Sharing of data on human subjects should be consistent with the conditions of the Human Subjects protocol approved by the authors’ Institutional Review Board (and any other agreements made with the subjects) for the work reported. 

How to Submit Manuscripts 

Electronic Submission. Authors must submit manuscripts online at www.cellbiologyeducation.org. Specific instructions on how to submit your manuscript are available at the submission site. Authors should submit the manuscript in .doc, .docx, or .rtf as two text files, the first containing the cover letter and the second containing the manuscript file. Figures, tables, and Supplemental Material must be submitted as individual files. Do not embed figures in the manuscript. If you are submitting a feature that does not contain an abstract or keywords, write “There is no abstract” in the required abstract field and “one,” “two,” and “three” in the keyword fields. 

Questions regarding submission guidelines can be directed to: [email protected] or 301-347-9338. 

Article Publication Charges and Waivers 

There is no submission charge. The article publication charge (APC) for the article/essay is $2,300 for members, and $2500 for non-members as of January 1, 2024. The member rate is only available for corresponding authors who are members at the time payment is due. A mechanism to make waiver or fee reduction requests will be incorporated into the submission process. It will also be possible to request waivers and fee reductions in advance of submission. Authors should provide a letter from their dean or department chair describing available funding. The ability of authors to pay article charges and any decisions regarding fee waivers will not be a factor in LSE’s editorial review process. Inquiries regarding publication charges and waivers should be directed to [email protected] and not to the editors. 

Special Policies

Author Name Change After Publication

ASCB respects the rights of our authors to their own identities and supports authors who have changed their name for reasons including marriage, divorce, gender identity change, religious conversion, and other personal reasons. Authors should contact ASCB Journals, [email protected], or [email protected] to request updates to their published records. Author requests will remain confidential and journal staff will work with authors to ensure changes are made quickly and accurately. Evidence of a legal name change is not necessary. However, authors must attest that they are requesting the change on their own behalf.

Authors may update any instance of their prior name, pronoun, or salutation in their publication(s). Changes can be made in the author’s byline, email address, or elsewhere within the body of their paper.

ASCB Journals will update the PDF and HTML versions of the paper and work with indexers to facilitate changes on sites such as PubMed. We cannot control, however, whether or when author name changes are made to non-ASCB sites. Also, due to the complexity and interconnectivity of the citation network across publishers, we cannot update citations for papers in which a name change has been made.

If an author wishes their work to be fully discoverable in all indexing and archiving sites under both prior and current names, then the name change would need to be issued via a formal correction. Because corrections are published under the full byline of the original paper, they require notification of all authors. The correction would state that a name change had been made but would not specify the change or the reason.

General Questions 

At any stage in the submission process, authors with questions should contact the LSE Editorial Office at 301-347-9338 (phone); 301-347-9350 (fax); [email protected]; or The American Society for Cell Biology, 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. 

You are encouraged to contact editorial board members or the Editors-in-Chief by email to discuss submissions to LSE

The LSE website is an additional resource to authors. See earlier issues of LSE for examples of the different types of manuscripts published. 

Last updated on 1/6/2022.