Publication Guide
Cell Press is the life-sciences flagship imprint of Elsevier, publishing more than 50 journals from its base in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The portfolio is anchored by Cell - founded in January 1974 by Benjamin Lewin under MIT Press - and grew into an independent publisher when Lewin established Cell Press in 1986. Elsevier acquired the company in April 1999, and Cell Press has since expanded well beyond molecular biology into immunology, neuroscience, cancer, chemistry (Chem), materials (Matter), and energy (Joule).
Unlike mega-publishers, Cell Press is a focused, selective portfolio: most titles are high-impact venues in their field. This guide covers which Cell Press journal fits your paper, open access options and real APC numbers, the peer review workflow, and how to submit.
Which Cell Press journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have a landmark result of broad biological significance | Cell - the flagship; exceptionally selective across all of biology. |
| Work in a specific field at the highest tier | Field flagships - Neuron (neuroscience), Immunity (immunology), Molecular Cell, Cancer Cell, Cell Metabolism, Cell Stem Cell, Developmental Cell. |
| Want fast, broad-scope biology with Gold OA | Cell Reports - fully open access, sound and significant biology across the life sciences (~$5,790 APC). |
| Have solid interdisciplinary work and a smaller budget | iScience (~2,270) - Gold OA mega-journals reviewing for soundness rather than perceived impact. |
| Work in chemistry, materials, or energy | Chem, Matter, or Joule - Cell Press's physical-science flagships. |
| Want to publish a step-by-step protocol | STAR Protocols - fully OA, structured protocol format. |
| Want an authoritative review | Trends series - Trends in Cell Biology, Trends in Neurosciences, and 14+ sibling review titles (mostly invited; proposals welcome). |
What Cell Press publishes
50+ journals in three broad groups:
- Flagship research journals - Cell, Neuron (1988), Immunity (1994), Molecular Cell (1997), Developmental Cell (2001), Cancer Cell (2002), Cell Metabolism (2005), Cell Stem Cell (2007), Current Biology, plus physical-science flagships Chem, Joule, and Matter.
- Gold OA titles - the Cell Reports family (including Cell Reports Medicine, Cell Reports Methods, Cell Reports Physical Science), Cell Genomics (2021), iScience, Heliyon, Med, and STAR Protocols - roughly 15+ fully open-access journals.
- Trends reviews - the long-running Trends series of invited review journals covering most life-science fields.
Open access and APCs - actual numbers
Every Cell Press journal has offered an open access option since January 2021. Three routes:
- Gold OA - fully-OA titles (Cell Reports family, iScience, Heliyon, Med, STAR Protocols, Cell Genomics). Licenses: CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND.
- Hybrid OA - all flagship titles let you pay an APC to make your article immediately open.
- Green OA / delayed access - self-archiving is permitted under Elsevier's sharing policy, and Cell makes its archive freely accessible 12 months after publication (back to January 1995).
| Title | Route | APC (USD, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Heliyon | Gold OA | ~$2,270 |
| iScience | Gold OA | ~$3,240 |
| Cell Reports Physical Science | Gold OA | ~$4,900 |
| Cell Reports / Cell Reports Medicine | Gold OA | ~$5,790 |
| Cell, Neuron, Immunity, other flagships | Hybrid OA | Toward the top of Elsevier's list - Elsevier APCs run up to ~$11,400; check each journal's fee page |
Elsevier revises prices annually, so always confirm on the journal's own APC page. Authors covered by an Elsevier transformative (read-and-publish) agreement may publish OA at no direct cost - but many agreements place Cell Press titles in a separate or capped tier, so verify with your library first. Waivers and discounts are available for authors in eligible low- and middle-income countries.
Peer review process
- Default model: single-anonymized review; several titles offer double-anonymized review on request.
- Sound-science titles: iScience and Heliyon review for methodological rigor rather than perceived novelty or impact.
- Turnaround: flagship titles typically return desk decisions within weeks; full peer review usually runs 2-4+ months depending on the journal and revision cycles.
- Transfers: declined manuscripts can be transferred with reviews to another Cell Press or Elsevier journal, which often shortens the second round.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Match your paper's scope and selectivity tier using the table above and each journal's aims-and-scope page.
- Read the author guidelines at cell.com/authors - Cell Press has portfolio-wide guidelines plus title-specific instructions.
- Format your manuscript. Cell Press flagships use the STAR Methods structure for reporting; templates for Cell Press journals are available on SciSpace.
- Submit via Editorial Manager. Cell Press journals use Editorial Manager; the journal's homepage links the correct portal (confirm there, as platforms occasionally migrate).
- Respond to transfer offers strategically. A transfer to Cell Reports or iScience with reviews attached is often faster than starting fresh elsewhere.
Citation style
Cell Press journals use the Cell style - an author-year system with numbered reference formatting rules specific to the portfolio. SciSpace's citation generator and Cell Press templates apply it automatically.
Ethics and integrity
Cell Press operates under Elsevier's publishing-ethics framework: Elsevier is a member of COPE and STM, and retractions follow COPE guidelines. The portfolio's largest integrity event was at Heliyon, whose Web of Science indexing was placed on hold in October 2024 over content-quality concerns; after an internal audit and large-scale retractions, Clarivate lifted the hold in 2026. Flagship Cell Press titles apply STAR Methods reporting standards and structured data-availability statements.
