Instructions to Authors

Editorial Policies
Submission Information
Article Types
Manuscript Preparation: Format, Structure, and Style
Manuscript Charges

About the Journal

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine® is a peer-reviewed open access journal that publishes 12 issues per year in online format.

Scope of the Journal

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine works to advance the utilization of cells for clinical therapy. By bridging stem cell molecular and biological research and helping speed translations of emerging lab discoveries into clinical trials, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine will help move applications of these critical investigations closer to accepted best patient practices and ultimately improve outcomes.

The journal encourages original research articles and concise reviews describing laboratory investigations of stem cells, including their characterization and manipulation, and the translation of their clinical aspects from the bench to patient care. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine covers all aspects of translational cell studies, including preclinical studies, first-in-human case studies, and relevant clinical trials.

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine covers:

• Human Clinical Articles
  • First in human case studies
  • Phase I/II clinical trials
  • Negative clinical results
• Cell-Based Drug Development, Screening, and Toxicology
  • Derivation, characterization, and differentiation for clinical use
  • In vivo models
  • Throughput systems with in vivo applications
• Cord Blood
  • Umbilical cord blood and tissue-based therapies
  • Accessory cell populations
  • Engineering and manufacturing of cord blood immune cells
  • Modulation of endogenous cell and tissue repair
  • Cord blood and cord tissue banking
  • Non-malignant diseases treated by cord blood transplantation
  • Cord blood and cord tissue in regenerative medicine
• Enabling Technologies for Cell-Based Clinical Translation
  • Cell tracking in vivo
  • Cell delivery vehicles
  • Biomaterials
  • Devices
  • Imaging
  • Diagnostics
• Fetal and Neonatal Stem Cells
  • Derivation, characterization, and differentiation for clinical use with in vivo validation
  • Cell banking
  • Therapeutic potential
  • Animal models
  • Translational preclinical studies
  • Clinical applications
  • First-in-human case studies
  • Phase I/II clinical trials
  • Negative clinical results
• Manufacturing for Regenerative Medicine
  • GMP aspects
  • Quality assurance/control
  • Scale-up and production
  • Cell-based therapies release criteria
  • Regulations for manufacturing
• Pluripotent Stem Cells
  • Derivation, characterization, and differentiation for clinical use
  • Cell banking
  • Therapeutic potential
  • Animal models
  • Translational preclinical studies
  • Clinical applications
  • First-in-human case studies
  • Phase I/II clinical trials
  • Negative clinical results
• Standards, Protocols, Policies, and Regulations for Cell-Based Therapies
  • Cell standards
  • Intellectual property relevant to clinical translation
  • Cell toxicology/tumorigenesis and other assays
  • Regulations for clinical trials
• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
  • Applications for cell-based strategies in pathological conditions
  • Tissue engineering
  • Medical device and artificial organ development
  • Cell transplantation and technologies that will maintain, improve, or restore the function of diseased organs
  • Therapeutic potential
  • Animal models
  • Translational pre-clinical studies
  • Clinical applications
  • First-in-human case studies
  • Phase I/II clinical trials
  • Negative clinical results
• Tissue-Specific Progenitor and Stem Cells
  • Derivation, characterization, and differentiation for clinical use
  • Cell banking
  • Therapeutic potential
  • Animal models
  • Translational preclinical studies
  • Clinical applications
  • First-in-human case studies
  • Phase I/II clinical trials
  • Negative clinical results

Advance Access/Publication Model Information

In STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, articles go through the production process until the final corrected proof is ready to publish. Articles are then published on the Advance Articles page, ahead of issue publication. Appearance in Advance Access constitutes official publication, and the Advance Access version can be cited by a unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Articles remain on the page until they are placed into an issue, and then are removed from the Advance Access page.

Editorial Policies

Please read these instructions carefully and follow them closely. The Editors may return manuscripts that do not follow these instructions.

Details of Oxford University Press’s editorial policies are available.

Peer Review

This journal uses a single-blind peer review process where authors do not know the identity of their reviewers. On submission, your paper will undergo an initial screening by the STEM CELLS Translational Medicine Editorial Office. At this stage, manuscripts may be rejected without peer review if they are deemed inappropriate for the journal. If the Editorial Board members assigned to the paper determine that the paper should proceed further, it may be sent out for peer review. Based on the feedback from these reviewers and the editors’ judgement, a decision is given on the manuscript. Authors will be notified of acceptance, rejection, or need for revision as quickly as possible.

If revision is needed, the revised manuscript and a point-by-point response are returned to the reviewers to ensure that their concerns have been adequately addressed. The responsible member of the Editorial Board reviews the final version of the manuscript, along with all rounds of reviewers’ comments and the authors’ point-by-point responses. Only when the assigned Board member and the Editor-in-Chief is satisfied that the work has been appropriately reviewed and is suitable for STEM CELLS Translational Medicine will the manuscript be accepted.

Additional guidance about the peer review process is available.

Authorship

The Journal requires that each listed authors state their contribution to a manuscript using the following categories, which are based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Each author's contribution to the manuscript will be declared during the online submission process.

• Conception and design
• Financial support
• Administrative support
• Provision of study material or patients
• Collection and/or assembly of data
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Manuscript writing
• Final approval of manuscript
• Other (please be specific)

Authorship should be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work and the nature of each author’s contribution will be published with each accepted manuscript. The corresponding author must have obtained permission from all authors for the submission of each version of the paper and for any change in authorship. Please note that all authors will be contacted to verify their authorship following the initial submission.

All other contributors who do not meet sufficient criteria for authorship should also be noted in the Acknowledgments section. 

The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or guest/gift authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.

Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE position statement on Authorship and AI for more details.

After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made unless there is a substantive reason to do so. The editor and all co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates authorship disputes. If individuals cannot agree on the authorship of a submitted manuscript, contact the editorial office at [email protected]. The dispute must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team. COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes.

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Authors are required to include a Data Availability Statement in their article.

We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area. 

Data Availability Statement

The inclusion of a Data Availability Statement is a requirement for articles published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. Data Availability Statements provide a standardized format for readers to understand the availability of data underlying the research results described in the article. The statement may refer to original data generated in the course of the study or to third-party data analyzed in the article. The statement should describe and provide means of access, where possible, by linking to the data or providing the required unique identifier.

The Data Availability Statement should be included in the end matter of your article under the heading “Data Availability”.
 
More information and example Data Availability Statements. 

Data and Software Citation

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and the recommendations of the FORCE11 Software Citation Implementation Group. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list.
 
For details of the minimum information to be included in data and software citations see the guidance on Citing research data and software.

Distribution of Reagents

The Editors of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine follow the policy that any readily renewable resources mentioned in a Journal article not already obtainable from commercial sources shall be made available to all qualified investigators in the field. The policy stems from the long-standing scientific principle that authenticity requires reproducibility. Publication in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine constitutes a de facto acceptance of this policy. Included are reagents that can be easily provided—specifically, nucleic acid sequences, cDNA and genomic clones, cell lines, and monoclonal antibody clones. Small amounts (sufficient for the replication of any in vitro work reported) of novel protein reagents are also considered easily transferable.

Although the Editors appreciate that many of the reagents mentioned in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine are proprietary or unique, neither condition is considered adequate grounds for deviation from this policy. Suitable material transfer agreements can be drawn up between the provider and requester, but if a reasonable request is turned down and submitted to the Editor, the corresponding author will be held accountable. 

Submission of Sequences to GenBank

The journal encourages that original DNA sequences reported in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine  be submitted to GenBank. Instructions for submission can be found at the following address: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/. An accession number should be supplied parenthetically at a relevant location in text.

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine supports the efforts of the Microarray Gene Expression Data Society to standardize the presentation of microarray data. The Journal requires that microarray data be deposited in either the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/, or in Array Express at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/.

In your STEM CELLS Translational Medicine submission, the accession number and the complete website link for this deposit must be listed in the figure legends or supplemental figure legends of your manuscript, as the Journal will no longer accept for review microarray data that are submitted as figures or files.

Clinical Trials Registry

In accordance with the guidelines published by ICMJE, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine will require, as a condition of consideration for publication, that all clinical trials be registered in a public trials registry (for example, at https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/). For more information, go to http://www.icmje.org and see Section III.J (Obligation to Register Clinical Trials).

Authors must comply with published CONSORT guidelines (http://www.consort-statement.org/).

The completed checklist must be provided to the editorial office along with the manuscript submitted. The recommended trial flow diagram should be presented as a figure.

Preregistration

Authors should follow field standards for disclosing key aspects of research design and data analysis and should report the standards used in their study. See the Equator Network for information about standards across disciplines. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine encourages authors to preregister their studies and analysis plans and to provide links to the preregistration in their submission.

Preprint and Self-Archiving Policy

Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page. Authors may self-archive versions of their work on personal webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories.

Conflict of Interest

Upon submission, authors are required to disclose any  relationships that may present a potential conflict of interest in the communication of nonbiased scientific information by completing a Potential Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure Form. This form is used to inform the Journal's editors, reviewers, and readers of the existence of any relationships that may be pertinent to the article and thus ensure full transparency of the peer-review and publication processes. These relationships may be financial or involve competing interests, such as holding equity or paid consultancy, patent rights, etc.

All information concerning potential conflicts of interest will be revealed to the peer reviewers and thereafter kept confidential (and on file by the Journal's editorial office). The Editorial Office will work with the corresponding author to formulate a disclosure statement for publication, should the manuscript be accepted. Any potential conflicts of interest found will be reviewed by the Editorial Board with the ad hoc assistance of external reviewers and resolved prior to publication. Where there is no conflict of interest, include a statement stating, “Authors declare no competing interest.”
A detailed definition of conflicts of interest is available.

Publication Ethics

Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication best practice. Falsification or fabrication of data, plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the authors’ own work without proper citation, and misappropriation of work are all unacceptable practices. Any cases of ethical or publication malpractice are treated very seriously and will be managed in accordance with the Commission on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Further information about OUP’s ethical policies is available on the Publication Ethics page.

Plagiarism

Manuscripts submitted to STEM CELLS Translational Medicine may be screened with iThenticate anti-plagiarism software to detect and prevent plagiarism. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose part or all the text has been previously published. Prior to final acceptance any manuscript that has not already been screened may be put through iThenticate. If you wish to excerpt large chunks of text, please identify the source.

Human and Animal Participants and Clinical Trials

A goal of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is to ensure that all articles reflect work that is morally acceptable. Authors must abide by the rules of a formally constituted research ethics committee, and/or their Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the tenets of the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical aspects of any submitted work that involves human participants, including research, audit, and sometimes debate, should be appraised.

To facilitate an ethics appraisal, every research article submitted to STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is required to include a statement that the authors obtained ethics approval (or a statement that it was not required), including the name of the ethics committee or Institutional Review Board, the number/ID of the approvals, and a statement that participants gave informed consent before taking part. This applies to all types of articles, including trials involving active interventions, non-intervention studies, and audits.

• All trials involving an active intervention, either treatment or diagnostic, must be accompanied by a statement of approval by the local IRB or similar ethics committee, and a statement guaranteeing that all patients gave written informed consent.
• Non-intervention studies should include a statement verifying that the study has been approved, or determined exempt, by an independent ethics committee, that informed consent has been obtained even if documentation of informed consent has been waived, and that the information contained is kept confidential and all identifiers have been removed prior to submission for publication.
• Studies referred to as audits also need consideration of an ethics committee. The distinction between "research," which investigates what should be done, and "audit," which investigates whether it is being done, may be unclear. However, the assumption that audit or analysis of previously collected data is not subject to ethical analysis cannot be justified.

Investigators are invited to explain in detail how the ethics of their study were justified. We also welcome the submission of any informational sheets that were provided to participants. If such detail does not easily fit into the manuscript, this information should be provided in the cover letter or uploaded as a supplemental file when submitting the article. This detailed information may not be published, but we may make it available to peer reviewers and editorial committees. Peer reviewers are asked to consider and comment on the ethics of submitted work.

Authors must also disclose funding sources for clinical trials, including patient-funded trials.

Animal Welfare

Manuscripts reporting on studies that involve experiments with animals must include a statement verifying that care of animals was in accordance with institutional guidelines.

Guidelines for Stem Cell Research

Research with embryonic stem cells should adhere to the guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences, as published in the National Academies Press, at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11278/guidelines-for-human-embryonic-stem-cell-research.

Recombinant DNA Research Guidelines

Any recombinant DNA research must follow the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (available at https://osp.od.nih.gov/biotechnology/nih-guidelines/) and should be described within the manuscript.

Appropriate institutional review committee approval must be stated in the Materials and Methods section for human or animal subjects involved in experimental investigations. This statement should also show that informed consent was obtained for human subjects. Such manuscripts must include a statement verifying that the human investigations were preceded by local institutional review board approval and, if appropriate, in accordance with an assurance filed with and approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Submission

We will consider your manuscript if:

• It is your own original work and does not duplicate any previously published work, including your own
• It is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any journal other than STEM CELLS Translational Medicine
• It has not been published in any other journal
• It contains nothing abusive, defamatory, libelous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal

Authors should observe high ethical standards and obey publication best practices. The following are all unacceptable:

• Data falsification or fabrication
• Plagiarism, including duplicate publication of your own work without proper citation
• Misappropriation of work

We treat any case of ethical or publication malpractice very seriously. We will address them in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Further information about OUP’s ethical policies is available.

How to Submit

You must submit your paper via our web-based submission system. If you have not published with STEM CELLS Translational Medicine before, you will need to create an account. Questions about submitting can be sent to the editorial office at [email protected].

Select articles rejected from STEM CELLS may be recommended for transfer to STEM CELLS Translational Medicine for consideration. Authors will have the option to revise their manuscript when they agree to transfer. Revisions and rebuttals to reviewer comments should be included in the cover letter.

Open Access Fee (required)

All articles published by STEM CELLS Translational Medicine are fully open access, meaning they are immediately freely available to read, download, and share. Authors may select from a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License or a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) License. Copyright on any research article published by STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is retained by the author(s). Authors grant OUP a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher. Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely if its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified. 

Article Types

This journal publishes the following article types:

Original Research

Reports new findings of major importance. The manuscript should include an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and a Discussion and Conclusion that place the findings in context and examines the implications for future research.

Word limit: 5,000
Display items: 7
Max References: 100 

Concise Reviews

Reviews should address the impact of new concepts or information on clinical disease management, including prognosis, treatment, prevention, or diagnosis.

Word limit: 3,000
Display items: 2
Max References: 50

Brief Reports

Short reports of current research. The manuscript should include an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and a Discussion and Conclusion that place the findings in context and examines the implications for future research.

Word limit: 2,000
Display items: 4
Max References: 25 

Human Clinical Articles

These manuscripts should include human case studies that show the state of the field and related challenges.

Word limit: 2,000
Display items: 2
Max References: 50 

Perspectives

Perspectives provide commentary on topical issues confronting stem cell scientists.

Word limit: 2,000
Display items: 2
Max References: 50 

Commentaries

Usually solicited by the Editors, commentaries may appear in any section of the Journal, depending on the content. The commentary format may be used for ongoing dialogues, pro-and-con discussions of controversial issues, or subjective articles of interest in the field of stem cell research.

Word limit: 2,000
Display items: 2
Max References: 50 

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor deal with material in published papers.

Word limit: 500
Display items: 1
Max References: 10 

Original Research

Original Research articles should meet the following criteria:

• The manuscript should include an Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods,  presentation of Results, and  Discussion that places the findings in context and examines the implications for science, clinical, and translational medicine disease management
• Total word count (excluding the abstract, references, and text for figures and tables) should not exceed 5,000 words
• Abstracts, which are limited to a maximum of 250 words, should clearly state the manuscript’s primary objective, discuss the implications of the work, and summarize any conclusions
• Total number of figures and tables should not exceed seven (any additional figures and/or tables should be labeled as “supplemental” and will appear online only)
• A CONSORT diagram is required for all Randomized and Phase III trials (the diagram does not count toward the seven figure and table limit)

For manuscripts involving clinical trials the manuscript also must include:

• The trial registry and registration identification number for the trial’s registry is required.
• Any study related protocol information for all randomized clinical trials
• Negative results from clinical trials important to the field but often underreported are encouraged
• Clear statement and approval from the ethical committee and others when animal or human material has been used
• Disclosure of funding sources for clinical trials, including patient-funded trials
• Most of the manuscript text, excluding the abstract and introduction, should present new data and discussion that address the impact of new concepts or information on clinical and translational medicine disease management

References should not exceed 100 entries and should be limited to recent works.

Concise Reviews

While most Concise Reviews are solicited by the Editors, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine also welcomes unsolicited Concise Reviews that address topics of significant interest and relevance to the translational aspects of stem cells and progenitor cells for cell-based therapy, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine from the bench to patient care. These papers should be submitted to the appropriate journal section.

Prior to submitting an unsolicited manuscript, authors are asked to review published reviews on the same topic in other widely read publications.

Authors should submit a pre-submission inquiry to [email protected]. We will review manuscripts submitted by academic, government, or industry authors, but not medical writers or other paid representatives. All authors should be identified in the pre-submission inquiry. The author should explain in the pre-submission inquiry what new information or perspective justifies the manuscript as a candidate for publication. The inquiry must also include:

• A detailed description of the primary concepts and discoveries addressed in the manuscript and discuss recent reviews on the same topic in related publications
• Specific clinical trials, if pertinent, to be discussed in the manuscript
• Any potential conflict of interests for all authors

Concise Review articles should meet the following criteria:

• Total word count (excluding the abstract, references, and text for figures and tables) should not exceed 3,000 words
• Abstracts, which are limited to a maximum of 250 words, should be a cutting-edge review of the subject setting them apart from other sources of information and clearly state the manuscript’s primary objective, discuss the implications of the work, and summarize any conclusions
• Most of the manuscript text, excluding the abstract and introduction, should address the impact of new concepts or information on clinical disease management, including prognosis, treatment, prevention, or diagnosis
• The review should detail how the authors planned the review of the literature, what information was included or excluded, whether levels of evidence were used in assessing the value of each publication selected for inclusion, and whether unpublished material was included
• Opinions not supported by clear evidence should be identified as such and properly discussed
• Total number of figures/graphics and tables should not exceed two (any additional figures and/or tables should be labeled as supplemental and will appear online only)
• References should not exceed 50 and be limited to recent works. The authors may also include previous high-quality reviews that summarize earlier work about the subject of the review

Brief Reports

Brief Reports should be no more than 2,000 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, legends and references), and a maximum total of four figures and/or tables combined.

Commentaries and Perspectives

Perspectives provide commentary on topical issues confronting stem cell scientists. Perspectives should have not more than 2,000 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, legends and references), two Figures/Illustrations/Tables, and no more than 50 references.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are welcomed. They deal with material in published papers. Letters should be no more than 500 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, legends, and references), and one figure and/or table is allowed. Authors of papers referenced in Letters to the Editor are given the opportunity to respond. Both the letter and the response are subject to peer review.

Preclinical Model Studies and Clinical Trials

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is an important forum for innovative translational applications of technologies and therapeutics in regenerative medicine for preclinical model studies and clinical trials. If the research results might impact cell therapy practice within the next few years, presentation of these key findings is critical.

In the spirit of global cooperation and full transparency, and the hopes of helping science advance, speeding discoveries, and ultimately benefiting patients STEM CELLS Translational Medicine promotes the mission of sharing the results of negative clinical trials, and trials that may not have met primary outcome endpoints or completed accrual.

Innovative research and proof-of-concept studies are critical, and the following bodies of work will be considered:

• Compelling cell implantation technologies and novel tissue/organ repair and regeneration protocols, including areas of novel stem cell therapeutics, effective tissue engineering platforms, innovative scaffolds, efficient bioreactors, and biofunctional adjuvants (including biologics and or acellular components/synthetic components/catalyzing factors/co-factor/mobilization factor, etc.)
• A clear description of a novel research platform with proof-of-concept studies in degenerative disease models is critical
• Novel mechanisms used by regenerative medicine not previously described
• Studies that present novel biomarkers that contribute significantly to the understanding of a drug's effect
• Biomarkers, with biologic importance, that have been validated as useful clinical tools or as companion tools in clinical studies
• Preclinical studies that address critical issues and bring insight to complex clinical problems

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine places special emphasis on manuscripts based on human clinical studies from first-in-human, pilot trial, and safety study with measurable parameters to clinical trials with proof of efficacy. Manuscripts reporting results of negative clinical trials, and trials that may not have met primary outcome endpoints or completed accrual are also welcome and encouraged.

These reports offer a better understanding of evidence-based research by sharing all measurable data to move the field forward and ultimately benefit patients. Authors should seek to demonstrate the uniqueness, timeliness and importance of their studies. They should also explore the limitations of their conclusions as well as their significance to advancing the science.  

All trials involving an active intervention, either treatment or diagnostic, must be accompanied by a statement of approval by the local IRB or similar ethics committee, and a statement guaranteeing that all patients gave written informed consent. Authors must also disclose funding sources for clinical trials, including patient-funded trials.

Authors may choose from three alternative formats:

• Short Clinical Perspective: An article of 500 to 1000 words which explains the rationale for an imminent/current clinical study, provides insights into the state of the field, and briefly discusses the likely benefits and obstacles to progress;
• Pilot Study: A 500-to-1500-word scientific report of a first-in-human clinical experience or pilot trial with measurable parameters that may lead to further patient/regulatory studies; or
• Clinical Trial: A full length report of a human clinical study, ranging from an early phase safety study with measurable parameters, to a late-stage trial aimed at providing definitive proof of efficacy prior to approval by the major national regulatory agencies.

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine requires, as a pre-publication consideration, that all clinical trials be registered in a public trials registry such as https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. All regulatory agency documents, original Institutional Review Board (IRB) – approved protocol documents, Informed Consent Documents (ICDs) from study volunteers, and contact information for further inquiries must be submitted. Only the original IRB documents will be posted online.

Author Contributions

An Author Contributions section is required for these article types: Research Reports, Perspectives, Reviews, and Letters to the Editor/Author Responses. Please make sure this section is present in your article when submitted. Where required, authors should include five or six standard designated contributions. These can be chosen from within submission system at the time of revision, and they should also be listed within the manuscript.

ORCID

Authors are encouraged, but not required, to include ORCID information in their articles. Where given, ORCIDs should be present in the manuscript at submission. More information on ORCID and the benefits of using an ORCID iD is available. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.

Third-Party Copyright and Permissions

If you wish to reproduce any material for which you do not own the copyright—including quotations, tables, or images—you must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Usage must be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to this reuse. The permissions agreement must include the following documents:

• Non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in your article in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine
• Both print and electronic rights, preferably for use in any form or medium
• Lifetime rights to use the material
• Worldwide English-language rights

Further information on obtaining permissions is available.

Manuscript Preparation: Format, Structure, and Style

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine is format-neutral at initial submission, which means that manuscripts do not need to be formatted according to specific journal guidelines to be considered for review. We do, however, require the following information to evaluate your manuscript:

• A manuscript file (in any format) including the following:
  • Title page (title, author list, classification, keywords)
  • Abstract
  • Significance statement
  • Main text
  • References
  • Figures or tables with appropriate legends (may be uploaded separately)
  • Supplementary files (may be uploaded separately)
• Contact and competing interest information for all authors
• Data sharing plans (including all data, documentation, and code used in analysis)
• Funding information

Presubmission Language Editing

If you are not confident in the quality of your English, you may wish to use a language-editing service to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your paper. Oxford University Press partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, via this link: https://www.enago.com/pub/oup.

Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review by the journal.

Submission Cover Letter

Submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter briefly describing the work’s significance and identifying the corresponding author, with:

• Complete mailing address
• Telephone number
• Email address

Title Page

The first page of the manuscript should contain the following information:

• Title, which should be concise and descriptive, no more than 150 characters in length
• Running head of the title that is no more than 50 characters, including spaces
• Name(s) of author(s)
• Name(s) of institution(s) at which the work was done
• Author contributions for each author according to the following categories:
  • Conception and design
  • Financial support
  • Administrative support
  • Provision of study material or patients
  • Collection and/or assembly of data
  • Data analysis and interpretation
  • Manuscript writing
  • Final approval of manuscript
  • Other (please be specific)

Please use the following format when adding this information to your title page:
Author 1: Conception and design, financial support, manuscript writing
Author 2: Conception and design, provision of study material or patients

• Correspondence information for corresponding author (name, degree, address [including postal code], telephone number, and email address)
• Disclaimers, if any
• Brief acknowledgment of grants, equipment, or drugs for research support
• Four to six key words or phrases, using terms from the most recent Medical Subject Headings of National Center of Biotechnology information (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Although all published articles are accessible online, authors can take steps to improve their article's online discoverability. Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can help boost STEM CELLS Translational Medicine content to high-ranking positions in search results, resulting in greater visibility, readership, and citations for your article.

Key techniques you can use to improve your article's SEO are:

• Carefully select at least 5 relevant key words
• Lead with key words in the article title
• Repeat key words 3-4 times throughout the abstract
• Link to the published article on social media, blogs, and academic websites

Abstract

An abstract is required for all Original Research, Concise Reviews, and Brief Reports. The abstract should:

• Contain no more than 250 words
• Clearly state the paper's primary objective
• If appropriate, describe materials and methods and results
• Discuss the implications of the work
• Summarize any conclusions
• Be readable by non-specialists as well as experts in the field
• Define abbreviations and acronyms on first usage

The abstract should not contain:

• Footnotes
• Statistical significance values
• References
• Proprietary names

Significance Statement

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine requires all submissions to include a significance statement, which differs in purpose from the abstract. It is a summary (approximately 100 words) describing the overarching significance of the article and clearly defining its potential impact. This statement should not contain references and should avoid numbers, measurements, and acronyms. Whenever possible, it should be written in language comprehensible by a lay reader.

Graphical Abstract

A graphical abstract is a visual representation of the key concepts in the article. Authors are invited to upload an attractive full-color, high-quality graphic that illustrates the important findings of their research. These are often the concluding figure from the article or a figure that is specially designed to give readers a preliminary understanding of the manuscript while browsing. The graphical abstract should be submitted in .eps or .tif format, preferably at the time of manuscript submission. The graphical abstract will be printed and should be submitted sized at 4:3 aspect ratio with a minimum size of 100x75mm or 4x3in. The use of graphs and images consisting of several parts or panels is discouraged. The image can contain text but does not have a figure legend.

Text

The text should be divided into the following sections (when appropriate) and in the following order:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion and/or Summary
• Acknowledgments
• Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
• Data Availability Statement
• References
• Figure legends
• Tables
• Figures

Within the text:

• Acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols must be clearly defined on first usage
• Footnotes are not allowed, except within tables
• References, tables, and figures must be numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text

Style

The journal follows American Medical Association (AMA) parent style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing your manuscript. More information on the style guide is available. US spelling should be used throughout, except in quotations and in references.

Abbreviations

Please define nonstandard abbreviations at the first occurrence. Ensure that abbreviations are accessible to a broad scientific audience.

Tables

Tables must be titled and cited in numerical order in the text using Arabic numerals. Each table should be double-spaced and typed on a separate page. Use superscript lowercase letters to denote footnotes within a table in the order they appear. Each table must include definitions of all abbreviations used in it. Tables should be created in Microsoft Word using the table feature. Tables must not be embedded within the manuscript but should be submitted as individual files in .doc format and designated as “figures” during the submission process.

Figures

You must include figure titles and legends within the manuscript file—they should not be included in the image file.

You must submit each figure as an individual image file. Submit all panels of a multipanel figure on a single page as one file. For example, if the figure has 3 panels, the figure should be submitted as one file. Each panel should be labeled as a letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) in the upper-left corner of each panel.

Images of photographs or paintings can be provided as raster images. Common examples of raster images are .tif/.tiff, .raw, .gif, and .bmp file types. The resolution of raster files is measured by the number of dots or pixels in each area, referred to as “dpi” or “ppi.”

• Minimum resolution required for printed images or pictures: 350dpi
• Minimum resolution for printed line art: 600dpi (complex or finely drawn line art should be 1200dpi)
• Minimum resolution for electronic images (i.e., for on-screen viewing): 72dpi

Images of maps, charts, graphs, and diagrams are best rendered digitally as geometric forms called vector graphics. Common file types are .eps, .ai, and .pdf. Vector images use mathematical relationships between points and the lines connecting them to describe an image. These file types do not use pixels; therefore, resolution does not apply to vector images.

Figures prepared as .doc/.docx or .jpeg/.jpg files will not be accepted.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

References

You may format references in any readable style at submission. You are responsible for the accuracy of reference information.

Funding

Any funding information should be included at the end of your manuscript. Please fully cite any relevant funding information, including the full funding body name and specific grant numbers. If you do not have funding information, include a no-funding statement: “The authors declare no funding.”

LaTeX

Information on LaTeX files and formatting is available.

Supplementary Material

You must submit supplementary data or supplementary material at the same time as the main manuscript. Supplementary material:

• Must be cited in the text of the main manuscript
• Will be available online only and will not be copyedited or typeset
• Should be styled and formatted consistent with that of the manuscript
• Should be formatted to function on any internet browser
• Should have files no larger than 2MB each

Miscellaneous

Additional information can also be included, such as an equal contribution statement, previous presentation information, working group details, opinion disclosures, or special feature information. Ensure these items are present in the manuscript at submittal and acceptance.

Resubmissions and Appeals

Resubmissions may be allowed upon request from the editorial board. Appeals must be made in writing and sent to [email protected]. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine may consider author appeals of decisions on rejected papers. If an appeal is rejected, further appeals of the decision will not be considered and the paper may not be resubmitted.

Production

Proofs

The corresponding author will receive a link by email to access the PDF proof. Proofing instructions will accompany the email. It is the author’s responsibility to check the proofs thoroughly. The proof should be checked immediately upon receipt and corrected in accordance with queries and instructions. Only essential corrections should be made at the proof stage.

License to Publish and Open Access Options

Articles in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine can be published under the following types of licenses:

• Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY)
• Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license (CC BY-NC)

Your funding agencies may have specific requirements for what type of open access license to use. Please see Creative Commons licenses for more information, and please see the Licenses, copyright and re-use rights page for more information about our standard license to publish. Please check with your funding body if you are unsure of any license requirements.

Please see Licenses, copyright and re-use rights for more information regarding the rights retained under a standard license to publish.

Manuscript Charges

Charges for the license options offered by STEM CELLS Translational Medicine are listed below.

• CC BY: $2963
• CC BY−NC: $2963
• COMMENTARY ONLY CC BY: $1930
• COMMENTARY ONLY CC BY-NC: $1930 

Submission Fee

As of May 1st 2025, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine no longer charges submission fees. If you have any questions, please reach out to the editorial office at [email protected].

Author Services

Authors can pay CC BY or CC BY-NC charges in the Author Portal. Authors may also refer the charges to an institutional prepayment account. Any applicable discounts can also be applied prior to payment.