Molecular Imaging™

The premier journal for imaging biochemical and cellular events in intact living organisms

Instructions for Authors

Downloadable Files

Instructions for Authors

Manuscript Submission Form

Manuscript Warranty and Copyright Assignment Form

Peer Review

The Editors are committed to a rapid review process with high quality standards. Every effort will be made to obtain reviews and return editorial decisions to the authors within 3 weeks of manuscript receipt. When manuscripts are accepted contingent on revision, the revised work must be received within three months of the decision date, unless prior arrangements are made with the Editors.

Guidelines for Editorial Decisions

The primary criteria for judging which manuscripts are published are originality and scientific/clinical significance. Manuscripts may be editorially declined on these grounds, even if the experimental work appears technically sound.

Manuscript Submission

A completed Manuscript Submission Form and Manuscript Warranty and Copyright Assignment Form should be submitted with one (1) original manuscript copy. All forms are available in the first issue of each volume or over the internet. A cover letter accompanying the manuscript should provide contact information for the Corresponding Author and indicate the appropriate manuscript category. The original manuscript should contain a set of figures suitable for reproduction. Original figures will not be returned unless specifically requested.

Submission Address

Lucy Raybon, Journal Manager
Molecular Imaging Editorial Office
Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center
JHOC, Room #3142
601 North Caroline Street
Baltimore, MD 21287
Tel.: 410-614-5904; Fax: 410-955-7699
E-mail: lucy.raybon@jhmi.edu

Prior Publication

The submitted material must not be published nor submitted elsewhere, except in abstract form.

Conflict of Interest

Authors should disclose any commercial affiliations or financial interests that may be considered conflicts of interest regarding the submitted manuscript. The specifics of these disclosures will be held in confidence.

Manuscript Categories

Molecular Imaging publishes Research Reports, Brief Reports, Reviews and Meeting Reports. Research Reports are full length original articles. Brief Reports are short, timely articles which may provide preliminary accounts of work of special interest or complete accounts of work of limited scope. While there are no specific length limitations for Brief Reports, authors are encouraged to keep them concise. Authors wishing to contribute a Review should contact the Editor. Reviews should focus on a recent development or issue in a single area, rather than attempt to exhaustively cover an entire topic. Meeting Reports should offer a synthesis of information presented at a scientific meeting that would be of interest to the general readership.

Submission of Disks

To expedite the publication process Molecular Imaging asks authors to submit a 3.5" floppy disk, CD or Zip disk containing a file(s) for the text and figures of the manuscript. The latest version of Microsoft Word is preferred. Please label the disk with the manuscript title, the first author's name, and the word processing program and version used. If a revised manuscript is submitted during the review process, it must be accompanied by a disk containing a file for the revised text.

Manuscript Style & Organization

Please begin each section on a new page. Line numbering is useful for review purposes; their use is left to the author's discretion.

Abbreviations: A term that does not appear on Molecular Imaging's abbreviations list must be used at least three times in a paper to qualify as an abbreviation. Spell out the term when first mentioned, and follow it with the abbreviated form in parentheses. Thereafter, use the abbreviated form. On the title page, supply a footnote of nonstandard abbreviations used in the paper, in alphabetical order, giving each abbreviation followed by its spelled-out version.

Title Page: The title of the manuscript should be followed by complete names of all authors and their institutional affiliations. The name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author should be provided. Furnish a running title of not more than 50 characters and spaces. Please furnish five (5) keywords describing the manuscript subject matter. Revised manuscripts should be so noted and include the original manuscript number.

Abstract: The abstract should not exceed 200 words, and summarize the materials, methods, results, and significant conclusions reported in the manuscript. Citations in the abstract must be given in full. On the same page, supply an alphabetical list of nonstandard abbreviations used in the paper three or more times, with their full definitions.

Introduction: A succinct presentation of the nature and scope of the problem investigated should be provided followed by a review of the pertinent literature, methodological approach, and principle results.

Materials and Methods: Provide enough detail so that someone familiar with the techniques could repeat the experiments. Subheadings should be used and when possible, correlate with those used in the Results section.

Results: It may be useful to give an overall description of the experiments without repeating experimental details. Strive to present the data with clarity avoiding redundancy.

Discussion: Present the relationships, generalizations and principles among the observed results and how your results agree (or contrast) with other published work. State and provide evidence for each conclusion.

Acknowledgements: Please recognize any individuals who contributed to the manuscript and list funding sources.

References: References to published works should be cited parenthetically by number in the order in which they appear. Type references double-spaced, including all authors' names, year, complete article title, and inclusive page numbers. Abbreviate the names of journals using the standard MEDLINE abbreviations, which can be found at the National Center for Biotechnology Information Journal Browser web site. Citations such as "submitted for publication," or "personal communication," should be included parenthetically in the text, not with the References. Written permission to use personal communications must be provided. Unpublished meeting abstracts should not be cited.

Examples of References:

Journal Articles

Two authors:
Culver KW, and Blaese RM (1994). Gene therapy for cancer. Trends Genet 10, 174-178.

More than two authors:
Fujimoto JG, Pitris C, Boppart SA, and Brezinski ME (2000). Optical coherence tomography: an emerging technology for biomedical imaging and optical biopsy. Neoplasia 2, 9-25.

In press:
Authors listed as above (tentative publication date). Title of paper. Journal Name, In press.

Complete Books

Martin SJ (1997). Apoptosis and Cancer. Karger Landers, Basel, Switzerland.

Articles in Books

Kastan ME (1997). Molecular Biology of Cancer: The Cell Cycle. In Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. VT DiVita, Jr., S Hellman, and SA Rosenberg, Eds. Lippicott-Raven, Philadelphia, PA. pp. 121-134.

Published Abstracts

Pawelek JM, Low KB, and Bermudes D (1997). Tumor-targeted Salmonella as a novel anti-cancer vector. Cancer Gene Ther. 4, p. S24.

Figure Legends. Figure legends should be separated from the figures.

Tables. Please double-space tables on separate pages without vertical rules. Label each table with an Arabic numeral adjacent to its title.

Sequence Data

GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database accession numbers are required for all new sequences before they can be published in Molecular Imaging. Sequence data should be sent to GenBank before the manuscript is submitted for review. If the number is not available at the time of submission, it can be added at the page-proof stage. The "Sequin" program at the National Center for Biotechnology Information web site is useful for submitting sequences to GenBank.

Figures

Labels and Sizes: Illustrations must be self-explanatory and cited in numerical order in the text. Arabic numerals should be used to label figures and upper-case letters should designate specific panels of a multiple-part figure (e.g., Figs. 1A and 3D). Figures should be submitted at the size desired for final publication. Single-column figures cannot be more than 8.4 cm wide. Two-column figures are between 8.4 and 17.7 cm wide. Text should be about 2 mm high.

Photographs/micrographs: Submitted photo-(micro)graphs should be reproducible without reduction. If not feasible, indicate the desired percentage reduction on the back of the figure. A bar indicating the scale (�m or nm) should be included. Final labeling should be 3-3.5 mm high. Indicate the orientation, figure number, and first author's name on the reverse of each figure using a soft pencil.

Color Illustrations: No charge for the first color page and $400 for each additional color page. If the authors are unable to pay these fees, they should contact the Editorial office.

Manuscripts Accepted for Publication

Accepted manuscripts will be published rapidly after receipt of the final version. Authors can help to reduce the publication time of a manuscript by promptly returning corrected page proofs to the production office.

Page Charges and Reprints:

There are no page charges. A reprint order form should be returned prior to publication.