Molecular and Cellular Proteomics is owned and published by the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. It is published monthly in a printed and an electronic version. Information about MCP is available online at http://www.mcponline.org/. Its editorial policies are the responsibility of the Editors and Associate Editors, with the assistance of the Editorial Board under the general authority of the Publications Committee and the Council. MCP publishes papers based on original research that are judged, after editorial review, to make a substantial contribution to the understanding of any area of proteomics. Submission of any manuscript presenting original research findings to MCP implies that all of the data presented in the manuscript is original and cannot have been previously published, wholly or in part, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. This includes all print and electronic journals and any publicly accessible databases. In limited cases, data can be reproduced for comparative purposes, but in such instances it must be clearly identified as such and be properly and fully attributed.  To ensure compliance with this requirement, we stipulate, as a matter of policy, that authors must identify any other manuscripts containing related material emanating from their laboratories (or in the case of collaborative efforts, the laboratories of all other participants as well) that are under consideration for publication by MCP or any other journal, and to provide copies for the reviewers or editors upon request.

MCP also publishes short reviews and perspective articles by invitation from the Editors. These differ primarily in that the former must be a balanced presentation of the topic while the latter may reflect ‘a point of view.’ On occasion, at the discretion of the Editors, articles that describe activities or issues that impact proteomic research may be acceptable as Reports. MCP will accept letters to the Editor, which must address material that has appeared in the journal. The decision to publish a letter will be made by the Editors and Associate Editors and authors of papers that are addressed in any letter will be given an opportunity to respond. In all categories, authors are urged to keep the length of papers/communications to the minimum size necessary for clarity in presenting results and interpretations.

In keeping with the rapid development of the field and the concerns of the Editors and Associate Editors about the growing amount of protein misidentifications being reported, MCP has, after a fairly lengthy process involving considerable input from the proteomics community at large, created a set of guidelines for manuscripts containing data of this type. This eight point list is found on the journal website under Instructions to Authors and all manuscripts submitted will be evaluated for their compliance to them. Authors will be expected to be familiar with them when they prepare their articles and any deviations will have to be resolved before the review process is initiated. A convenient checklist is provided at the submission site as an aid in determining that a manuscript is in compliance.

There is a per-page charge for all published manuscripts, currently $65 per page. Authors unable to pay page charges may apply at the time of submission for a waiver of page charges. A senior institutional official must endorse applications.

As a condition of publication, all authors must transfer copyright to the ASBMB, Inc. Manuscript submitted under multiple authorship are reviewed on the assumption that all listed authors concur in the submission and that the final version of the manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors.

For NIH funded articles, the final redacted versions of all research articles resulting from partially or complete support from NIH will be deposited immediately in PubMed Central by ASBMB and will be subject to a 12 month embargo period.

Authors of papers published in MCP are obligated to honor any reasonable request by qualified investigators for unique propagative materials such as cell lines, hybridomas, and DNA clones that are described in the paper.

All manuscripts submitted to MCP are reviewed critically, and it is the responsibility of the Editors, the Associate Editors, and the Editorial Board to determine their suitability for publication. After receipt of a manuscript, it is sent to an Associate Editor who usually assigns it to two members of the Editorial Board. They then make a definitive recommendation for acceptance, revision, or declination based on the scientific merit and technical quality of the studies reported. Referees may be consulted when additional expertise is required or in lieu of one or both Board members at the discretion of the Associate Editor. In any case, the Associate Editor handling the manuscript will seek as much input as s/he feels is necessary to make a fair decision. All Board members and referees who review a manuscript remain unknown to the authors. The reviewers treat every manuscript as a privileged communication, and they are expected to exclude themselves from review of any manuscript that might involve a conflict of interest or the appearance thereof.

On submission of a manuscript, authors may request disqualification of a few potential reviewers, but not an Associate Editor. They may, however, point out a potential conflict with an Associate Editor, which will be considered by the Editors when the manuscript is assigned. Authors cannot make an extensive or blanket disqualification of a group of possible reviewers, e.g., potential competitors in one or more industrial laboratories or academic departments. Authors are required to suggest two potential reviewers, especially members of the Editorial Board, who have not seen the manuscript before submission.