How to submit your manuscript for the first time

Go to Author Information Center | How to prepare your revised manuscript for submission

Created September 2, 2021; Revised October 26, 2023 | Revision history

 

You can submit a manuscript in one of the following ways

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Note: There is no charge for submission to JCI Insight.

  1. Submit a manuscript through your account on the Journal’s submission website. Follow the instructions to either register for an account or access your existing account. Click the image below to open the submission site.

 

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  1. You may transfer a manuscript from the preprint server bioRxiv or medRxiv for submission to the Journal. Once the manuscript is transferred, corresponding authors receive an email indicating that the draft submission is available for editing and completion. Required documents are as described below.
 

What to have available during the online submission process

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Instructions for revised submissions are available here.
Go to Preparing your manuscript/Research; and Resource and Technical Advance.
Go to Preparing your manuscript/Clinical Medicine.

  • Access to and familiarity with the Journal’s editorial policies (you will be asked to check a box indicating you agree)
  • List of funding source(s) and any special license requirements (such as CC BY)
  • ORCID information for authors (recommended)
  • Digital files of manuscript and supporting documents (see Required documents, below)
  • Cover letter
  • Abstract (word limit: 200)
  • Author list
  • Keywords
  • You will be asked to name 3 potential reviewers
  • You may note up to 2 reviewers you wish to exclude and the reason(s) for exclusion
  • You may suggest a member of the Editorial Board with appropriate expertise to handle your submission

Required documents for first-time submissions

  • PDF of the entire manuscript, including figures, figure legends, and tables. Preferably, each figure is shown together with its corresponding legend on the same page. See formatting information below
  • Word/RTF file with text that is identical to the PDF but not including the figure images
  • Publication-quality supplemental material files
    • PDF of any supplemental methods, figures and legends, tables (but not large data sets), etc.
    • Spreadsheets of large tables
    • Video files in MPEG-4 (mp4) format
  • Supporting data values
    • View Journal policy on supporting data.
    • XLS file (distinct from any other supplemental material) that provides data values for all graphs, and values behind any reported means in the manuscript or supplement.
    • All associated values for the manuscript must be compiled into a single document. Values for each applicable figure panel should be provided in a separate tab.
    • Before submission, carefully review your file; it will not be checked by a copy editor. The Journal is not responsible for any errors contained in Supporting Data Values.
    • For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
  • PDF of any cited reference that is in review or in press at another journal, or is publicly unavailable
  • Recommended: For submissions that contain cropped blots/gels: a file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety. View Journal policy on blot/gel images.
  • You may submit any reviewer comments from other journals to which the manuscript has been previously submitted
 

Producing PDFs

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  • To produce PDFs, you will need Adobe Acrobat.
  • Note: This is different from Acrobat Reader, which is free software program that allows you only to view PDFs.
What if I’m not able to produce a PDF?

The following websites provide access to utilities that convert a variety of file types to PDFs:

 

Contacting Journal staff about a submitted manuscript

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For any communication with staff, reference the tracking number assigned by the Journal noted in the acknowledgment of your submission. If you do not have this information, reference the manuscript title and corresponding author’s name. Email staff@insight.jci.org or call 734-222-6050.

 

 

Preparing your manuscript

Navigate to view complete instructions for the manuscript category by clicking the appropriate link below.

 

Research and Resource and Technical Advance manuscripts — first submissions

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Formatting requirements

  • Recommended length, 9,000 words; maximum, 12,000 (all text inclusive of title page, full text, references, figure legends, and tables)
  • Double-spacing throughout, including references and tables; figure legends may be single spaced if necessary to keep a figure and its legend on the same page
  • All pages are numbered
  • Standard JCI Insight abbreviations and acronyms may be used without definition; all others are defined at first mention (with the abbreviated form appearing in parentheses) and used without definition thereafter.
  • Gene and protein names and symbols conform to official NCBI Gene Nomenclature and are presented according to Journal style.
  • Graphs of quantitative data are presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either dot plots or box-and-whisker plots (see Figures).

Note: After reviewing this section, authors are strongly encouraged to read Editorial policies and practices.

Content of Research and Resource and Technical Advance manuscripts

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Ensure that each section begins on a new page.

Tables

  • Title page

    • Manuscript title
      • Clear, concise, and limited to 15 words, including conjunctions
      • Refers to the relevant disease or disease model studied
      • No subtitles, colons, periods, or nonstandard abbreviations
    • Authors and affiliations
      • Full names of all authors (for example, “Jane L. Doe”); no titles, honorifics, degrees, or certifications
      • List of authors’ affiliations (departments, institutions, and locations, but not mailing addresses) during the period when the work was performed
      • Affiliation footnotes assigned consecutively using superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
      • Corresponding author’s complete name, address, telephone number (including country code, where applicable), and email address
      • Consortium/study groups shown as authors (e.g., CARDIoGRAM Consortium: Unless the members of each group appear as authors, list each individual member and their affiliation in the supplemental material.
      • In an unnumbered footnote, clearly indicate any instances of shared senior or first authorship or of equal contributions.
      • For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors in Author contributions.
    • Conflict-of-interest statement
      • A statement consistent with the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy. If no author has a conflict, state: “The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.”

  • Abstract

    • Abstract of no more than 200 words stating the rationale, objectives, findings, and conclusions of the manuscript in a single paragraph without subheads
    • No primary data or references
    • Define all nonstandard abbreviations at first use

  • Graphical abstract (optional)

  • Main text

    • Introduction
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Methods
      • Statistics. Methods of statistical analysis summarized in a stand-alone paragraph located near the end of Methods (right BEFORE “Study approval”).
      • Study approval. Declaration of approval of human and animal studies by the appropriate institutional review board(s) in a stand-alone paragraph titled “Study approval” (right BEFORE “Data availability”). For human studies, include a statement indicating that written informed consent was received prior to participation. For photographs of patients, authors must provide a separate statement specifically indicating that written informed consent was received for the use of the photographs and that the record of informed consent has been retained. In general, images of faces should not be shown unless essential to the clinical message.
      • Data availability. In a paragraph at the end of Methods, specify how underlying data and supporting analytic code for the article can be accessed. See Editorial policies for details.

  • Author contributions

    • Specify the contribution of each author (identified by initials) to the work.
    • Examples: designing research studies, conducting experiments, acquiring data, analyzing data, providing reagents, writing the manuscript
    • Multiple contributions may be listed for a single individual, and more than one author may be associated with a single contribution.
    • For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors. For details, see the related JCI Editorial.

  • Acknowledgments

    • State sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs.
    • Other appropriate acknowledgments (for example, of other scientists for help or advice) may also be included.

  • References

  • Figures

    • See How to prepare figures for submission
    • Graphs of quantitative data
      • Presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either:
        • Dot plots, with the average and appropriate error bars indicated; OR
        • Box-and-whisker plots, with values defined in the legend (bounds of the boxes, lines within the boxes, whiskers, and any outlying values)
    • Blot and gel images
      • Authors of new submissions that contain cropped blot/gel images are encouraged, but not required, to submit a file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety. Each image should be annotated as “Full unedited blot/gel for Figure [X],” with the lanes corresponding to those shown in the cropped images clearly indicated. This file should be uploaded separately from any supplemental material. For revised submissions, this file is required. Note: Effective January 1, 2024, the full unedited blot/gel data will be published if the manuscript is ultimately accepted for publication.

  • Tables

  • Supplemental material

    • Supplemental material may include figures, tables, videos, or appendices but excludes large data sets.
    • Combine supplemental material (except videos and spreadsheets) into a single PDF.
    • Before submission, carefully review all files; they will not be checked by a copyeditor. JCI Insight is not responsible for any errors contained in data supplements.
    • In the case of accepted articles, the supplemental material will be posted online along with the final published article.

  • Other accompanying files

    • Supporting data values: A single XLS file that provides all data in the manuscript and supplement represented in graphs and as mean ± standard deviation. Provide values for each applicable figure panel in a separate tab in the XLS file. This document will be published if the submission is ultimately accepted for publication. For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
 

Clinical Medicine manuscripts — first submissions

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Reports of interest

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  • Clinical trials

    • Reporting requirements for clinical trials
      • In accordance with Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, issued by the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), authors must provide specific information regarding the ethical treatment of research participants, patient consent, patient privacy, protocols, authorship, and competing interests.
      • The Editors recommend that authors consult the Equator Network for a list of reporting guidelines for each study type.
      • The Journal encourages (but does not require) authors to submit the protocols associated with their studies in the supplemental material.
        • In Methods, indicate where study protocols can be accessed (e.g., provide a URL).
    • Required supporting materials for clinical trials
      • Conflict of interest documentation: ICMJE uniform disclosure form are required for all authors and should be uploaded as supplemental material.
      • Clinical trial registry and trial registration number
      • Declaration of institutional review board approval and informed patient consent
      • Flow diagrams and checklists appropriate to study type: include the appropriate flow diagram as a figure in the manuscript and the corresponding checklist in the supplemental material.

  • Observational analyses

    • The Journal defines observational studies as those in which the investigator observes the effect a therapeutic or risk factor without intervention.
    • Trial registration. While registration is not required for all observational studies under ICMJE guidelines, the Editors encourage authors to register with any of the trial registries approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
    • Reporting guidelines. Trial authors must adhere to STROBE statement reporting guidelines. Visit the STROBE statement website for information concerning specific study types, including observational studies in epidemiology, genetic association studies, biomarker studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies.
    • Authors of observational studies should include a flow diagrams describing the study design and included patients.

Formatting requirements for Clinical Medicine manuscripts

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  • Recommended length, 9,000 words; maximum, 12,000 (all text inclusive of title page, full text, references, figure legends, and tables).
  • Double-spacing throughout, including references and tables; figure legends may be single spaced if necessary to keep a figure and its legend on the same page.
  • All pages are numbered.
  • Standard JCI Insight abbreviations and acronyms may be used without definition; all others are defined at first mention (with the abbreviated form appearing in parentheses) and used without definition thereafter.
  • Gene and protein names and symbols conform to official NCBI Gene Nomenclature and are presented according to Journal style.
  • Graphs of quantitative data are presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either dot plots or box-and-whisker plots (see Figures).

Note: After reviewing this section, authors are strongly encouraged to read Editorial policies and practices.

Content of Clinical Medicine manuscripts

[Top of page] | [Clinical Medicine manuscripts]

Ensure that each section begins on a new page.

  • Title page

    • Manuscript title
      • Clear, concise, and limited to 15 words, including conjunctions
      • Refers to the relevant disease or disease model studied
      • No subtitles, colons, periods, or nonstandard abbreviations
    • Authors and affiliations
      • Full names of all authors (for example, “Jane L. Doe”); no titles, honorifics, degrees, or certifications
      • List of authors’ affiliations (departments, institutions, and locations, but not mailing addresses) during the period when the work was performed.
      • Affiliation footnotes assigned consecutively using superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
      • Corresponding author’s complete name, address, telephone number (including country code, where applicable), and email address.
      • Consortium/study groups shown as authors (e.g., CARDIoGRAM Consortium): Unless the members of each group appear as authors, list each individual member and their affiliation in the supplemental material.
      • In an unnumbered footnote, clearly indicate any instances of shared senior or first authorship or of equal contributions.
      • For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors in Author contributions.
    • Conflict-of-interest statement
      • A statement consistent with the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy. If no author has a conflict, state: “The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.”

  • Structured abstract

    • Maximum 250 words
    • Study information summarized in the following sections:
      • Background. Provide context or background for the study and state the study’s primary objective or hypothesis in 1–2 sentences.
      • Methods. Describe the basic procedures used during the study, including selection of study participants and observational and analytical methods. Define the primary outcomes that were measured for each group of subjects.
      • Results. Summarize the main findings, including specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible. Include (if relevant) the number of participants in each group, the primary outcome for each group, and any significant adverse events or side effects.
      • Conclusion. In 1–2 sentences, state the principal conclusions, emphasizing new and important aspects of the study or observations.
      • Trial registration. List the public registry and trial registration number, e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00950003.
      • Funding. List all sources.

  • Graphical abstract (optional)

  • Main text

    • Introduction
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Methods
      • Statistics. Methods of statistical analysis summarized in a stand-alone paragraph located near the end of Methods (right BEFORE “Study approval”).
      • Study approval. Declaration of approval of human and animal studies by the appropriate institutional review board(s) in a stand-alone paragraph titled “Study approval” (right BEFORE “Data availability”). For human studies, include a statement indicating that written informed consent was received prior to participation.
      • Data availability. In a paragraph at the end of Methods, specify how underlying data and supporting analytic code for the article can be accessed. See Editorial policies for details.

  • Author contributions

    • Specify the contribution of each author (identified by initials) to the work.
    • Examples: designing research studies, conducting experiments, acquiring data, analyzing data, providing reagents, writing the manuscript
    • Multiple contributions may be listed for a single individual, and more than one author may be associated with a single contribution.
    • For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors. For details, see the related JCI Editorial.

  • Acknowledgments

    • State sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs.
    • Other appropriate acknowledgments (for example, of other scientists for help or advice) may also be included.

  • References

  • Figures

    • See How to prepare figures for submission
    • Graphs of quantitative data
      • Presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either:
        • Dot plots, with the average and appropriate error bars indicated; OR
        • Box-and-whisker plots, with values defined in the legend (bounds of the boxes, lines within the boxes, whiskers, and any outlying values)
      • Blot and gel images
        • Authors of new submissions that contain cropped blot/gel images are encouraged, but not required, to submit a file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety. Each image should be annotated as “Full unedited blot/gel for Figure [X],” with the lanes corresponding to those shown in the cropped images clearly indicated. This file should be uploaded separately from any supplemental material. For revised submissions, this file is required. Note: Effective January 1, 2024, the full unedited blot/gel data will be published if the manuscript is ultimately accepted for publication.

  • Tables

  • Supplemental material

    • Supplemental material may include figures, tables, videos, or appendices but excludes large data sets.
    • Combine supplemental material (except videos and spreadsheets) into a single PDF.
    • Before submission, carefully review all files; they will not be checked by a copyeditor. JCI Insight is not responsible for any errors contained in data supplements.
    • In the case of accepted articles, the supplemental material will be posted online along with the final published article.

  • Other accompanying files

    • Supporting data values: A single XLS file that provides all data in the manuscript and supplement represented in graphs and as mean ± standard deviation. Provide values for each applicable figure panel in a separate tab in the XLS file. This document will be published if the submission is ultimately accepted for publication. For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
 

Revision history

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  • October 25, 2023: Revised to state that uncut blots and gels will be published for any accepted manuscript effective January 1, 2024; and to require supporting data values file at first submission.
  • October 3, 2023: Changed requirement for quantitative graph presentation to occur at first submission.
  • July 13, 2023: Added links to "How to prepare tables."
  • June 1, 2023: Provided alternate URL for CONSORT checklist.
  • April 6, 2023: Added requirement for Data Availability paragraph.
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