Instructions to Authors
Manuscript Format
Tables
Figures and Illustrations
Supplementary Data
Page Proofs
License
Open Access
Permissions
Manuscript Submission
Online Submission of Manuscripts
Author Self-Archiving/Public Access Policy
Preprint Policy
Note regarding unsolicited manuscripts
ILAR Journal is published three times a year, with each issue dealing with a theme selected by the ILAR Council Editorial Board. ILAR Journal does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. All papers are invited by the Editorial Board and must be consistent with the theme of any particular issue.
ILAR journal policies on conflict of interest and publishing ethics
Before contributing to ILAR Journal as an author, reviewer, or issue editor, please consult Journal's policies on Conflict of Interest and Publication and Ethics.
Manuscript format
No manuscript will be sent out for review until all items are received. The preferred software for text is Microsoft Word, although manuscripts generated in other word processing programs are acceptable if saved in Rich Text Format.
The manuscript text (title page, abstract, article text, acknowledgments, reference list, and figure captions) should be uploaded in one file which is the main body in the category "main document". Tables are submitted as separate files (in .doc [Microsoft Word] or .rtf [Rich Text] format) must be in editable formats (no images please). This applies to the original version of the manuscript and any revised versions. Figures are separate files in the appropriate format for images.
Please use short, simple filenames when saving all your documents, and avoid special characters, punctuation marks, symbols (such as &), and spaces. If you are a Macintosh user, you must also type the extension at the end of the file name you choose (.doc, .rtf, .jpg, .gif, .tif, .xls, .pdf, .eps, .ppt, .mov, or .qt).
Other helpful hints are: (i) use the TAB key once for paragraph indents; (ii) where possible use Times New Roman for the text font and Symbol for any Greek and special characters; (iii) use the word processing formatting features to indicate Bold, Italic, Greek, Math, Superscript, and Subscript characters; (iv) please avoid using underline: for cases use italic; for emphasis use bold; (v) clearly identify unusual symbols and Greek letters; (vi) differentiate between the letter O and zero, and the letters I and l and the number 1.
At the time of submission, please also include the files for any supplementary material (published online only) that should accompany your manuscript. Supplementary material files are not edited in any manner but are uploaded exactly as received, so please ensure they are correct and complete before submission.
Double-space the entire manuscript (including references, tables, figure captions, and supplementary materials) on U.S. letter-sized paper, leaving at least 1-inch (2.54-cm) margins all around and set to print on one side of the paper only. Manuscripts should conform strictly to journal style. Those not following ILAR Journal style (described below) or not written in good idiomatic U.S. English may be returned to the author. Terminology and abbreviations not consistent with internationally accepted guidelines should be avoided (see Abbreviations & Acronyms below), as should laboratory jargon.
It is recommended that authors spell-check (with the language set to U.S. English) all files before submission. Particularly if English is not your first language, before submitting your manuscript, you may wish to have it edited for language. This is not a mandatory step but may help to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Please follow this link for information about the edited for language service. There are other specialist language editing companies that offer similar services, and you can use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
ILAR Journal style is based on the 10th edition of the American Medical Association Manual of Style. Please refer to it for helpful information. Authors are urged to proofread and edit their manuscripts carefully before submittal. Excessive changes in proof not due to typesetter errors will be charged to the authors.
Arrange sections of the text in the following order:
Title page
Abstract
Key words
Text
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Captions for all illustrations
Figures
Tables
Title Page
Title page should include title and list authors and their affiliations as follows: Using full sentences, provide full name, degree(s), title or position, institution, city, and state or country for every author. For the corresponding author, also provide mailing and email addresses. For example:
- Suzette D. Tardif, PhD, is an associate professor at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Texas. Keith G. Mansfield, DVM, is Associate Director for Resource and Collaborative Affairs and an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, and Chair of the Division of Primate Resources at the New England National Primate Research Center in Southborough, Massachusetts. Rama Ratnam, PhD, is an assistant professor of Systems and Computational Neuroscience in the Department of Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Corinna Ross, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies. Toni E. Ziegler, PhD, is a senior scientist at the Wisconsin Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin in Madison.
- Address correspondence to Dr. Suzette D. Tardif, Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 15355 Lambda Drive, STCBM Bldg 2.200.08, San Antonio, TX 78245 or email [email protected].
Every author affiliation/address must include the country. There are no country-based exceptions to this rule.
Here is an example of what should appear when an author has multiple affiliations. Notice that Germany must appear twice, even in successive German affiliations.
2Department of Neurology, Munich University, Munich, Germany;
3Department of Radiology, Berlin University, Berlin, Germany;
4Department of Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Abstract
The abstract should be approximately 250 words. Because abstracts often appear apart from the text of a paper (e.g., in PubMed or Medline), they should not cite references. Keep nonstandard abbreviations and acronyms to a minimum, defining them in parentheses at first mention. It is essential that the Abstract clearly state the biological importance of the work described in the paper.
Key Words
Below the abstract, list up to EIGHT keywords, arranged alphabetically and separated by semicolons, that may be used for indexing.
Text
- Aim for 20–30 pages double-spaced
- No footnotes. Use (author date) text citation and reference list (see below)
- Text: Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format (Microsoft Word is preferred)
- Separate tables and figures so that they appear after (not embedded in) the text
Headings:
There should be at least two subheads, no singleton subheads.
- First level header: Bold, flush left, each word (except prepositions and articles) capped; line space above and below
- Second level header: Not bold, flush left, capitalized words as in first level header; line space above and below.
- Third level header: Italic, not bold, centered, capped as in first level header; line space above and below
- Fourth level header: Paragraph indent, bold, first word capped, header followed by period. Text follows on same line.
Abbreviations
Spell out all abbreviations in the text upon first use, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses, following these guidelines:
- No definitions needed for units of measure (cm, mg/kg, etc.)
- Style is closed up, capped letters without periods (e.g., PhD, DVM, MD, PAM)
- In tables, may use and define in a footnote if used at least two times
- In a head or subhead it is preferable to spell out rather than use an abbreviation
Conclusion
Include concluding thought, summary, or future directions (or something along these lines). Because the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have a very specific definition of “Recommendations” please refrain from use of that term in your concluding section unless it is: a consensus report that has been prepared by a committee appointed by the president of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, after carefully vetting for balance and potential conflicts of interest, and that has undergone extensive peer review to ensure both strict adherence to the committee’s charge and adequate substantiation of the basis for the recommendations and findings.
Acknowledgments
Indicate source(s) of funding (as well as thanks, if you wish).
Crossref Funding Data Registry
In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. Please follow this link for additional information about the CHORUS initiative.
References
NEW - Since 2018, the ILAR Journal uses the American Medical Association Manual of Style (10th ed). Additional formatting for references can be found at the AMA site.
If you use EndNote and Reference Manager to facilitate referencing citations (not required for submission), please be aware that not all versions of these reference managing tools have been updated for the ILARJ style. Until further notice, select JAMA style in EndNote and Reference Manager.
Tables
All tables should be on separate pages and accompanied by a title, as well as by footnotes where necessary. Tables must be in editable format for typesetting. Tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Units in which results are expressed should be given in parentheses at the top of each column and not repeated in each line of the table. Ditto signs are not used. Avoid overcrowding the tables and the excessive use of words. Footnotes should be placed below the table and designated by superscript lowercase letters (listed in order of location when the table is read horizontally). Each column must have an appropriate heading describing the data in the column below, and units of measure must be clearly indicated. The format of tables should be in keeping with that normally used by the journal; in particular, vertical lines, colored text, and shading should not be used. Please be certain that the data given in tables are correct.
Figures and illustrations
ILAR Journal welcomes and encourages the use of figures. They must be of camera-ready quality. Figures will not be relettered by the publisher. The journal reserves the right to reduce the size of illustrative material. Please follow this link for additional information on preparing your figures for publication.
The page dimensions for ILAR Journal are 11in. tall by 8.5in. wide. Please ensure that any images are a minimum of 300dpi and the maximum size should not exceed the dimensions listed above.
Color files should be supplied in CMYK, not RGB, if possible. Because ILAR Journal is online-only, there are no charges for color figures.
Important : Provide separate files for figures: .eps, .tif, .gif, .ppt, or .jpg, with resolution of 300 dpi or greater. Line graphics may be submitted in their native format, for example, PowerPoint or Excel.
Third-Party Content in Open Access papers
If you will be publishing your paper under an Open Access license but it contains material for which you do not have Open Access re-use permissions, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material:
Title of content
Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder]
This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons license of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.
Supplementary data
Supporting material that is not essential for inclusion in the full text of the manuscript, but would nevertheless benefit the reader, can be made available by the publisher as online-only content linked to the online manuscript. The material should not be essential to understanding the conclusions of the paper, but should contain data that is additional or complementary and directly relevant to the article content. Such information might include more detailed methods, extended data sets/data analysis, or additional figures.
All supplementary text and figures must be provided in suitable electronic formats and must be submitted at the same time as the main manuscript for peer review. It cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted for publication and will not be edited. Therefore, please ensure that figure legends appear with figures, for example, and that files are complete and correct. Please indicate clearly all material intended as supplementary data upon submission. Also ensure that the supplementary data is referred to in the main manuscript, for example as '(see Supplementary data)' or '(see Supplementary Figure 1)'.
Page proofs
Corresponding Authors are sent page proofs by email. These should be checked immediately and corrections, as well as answers to any queries, returned to the publishers as an annotated PDF via email or fax within 2 working days (further details are supplied with the proof). It is the author's responsibility to check proofs thoroughly.
License
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change.
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford, authors will be invited to complete an online license to publish form. Once invited, the license form should be signed within 24 hours. If we have not received confirmation of signature by the time the manuscript arrives, your manuscript may be delayed.
It is a condition of publication for all Oxford Journals that authors grant an exclusive license to Oxford University Press or the sponsoring Society (ILAR). This ensures that all necessary rights needed for publication are in place, including provision for any requests from third parties, to reproduce content from the journals efficiently and consistently by OUP, and enabling the content to be as widely disseminated as possible. No article will be published unless the signed license has been received at Oxford Journals.
As part of the terms of the license agreement, Authors may use their own material in other publications written or edited by themselves provided that the Journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication, as well as Oxford University Press. As the Author(s), copyright of the Article remains yours (or your employer’s if your employer claims copyright in your work). See full details of Oxford Journals' copyright policy and the rights retained by you/your institution under the terms of the license.
Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published figures, tables, or parts of text are to be included, the copyright-holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission. For more information on how to obtain permissions, please consult Rights and Permissions.
Open access
ILAR Journal offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Permissions
Authors must obtain from the copyright holder, and if necessary pay for, permission to reproduce any third party material, including figures or tables, for online publication. Please note that obtaining copyright permission could take some time. It is the author's responsibility to be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to this reuse.
When seeking to reproduce any kind of third party material authors should request the following:
(i) non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in the specified article and journal;
(ii) electronic rights, preferably for use in any form or medium;
(iii) the right to use the material for the life of the work; and
(iv) world-wide English-language rights.
Please follow this link for guidelines on clearing permissions. A template permissions request letter can be found at the end of the linked document.
Authors should also include a statement indicating that permission has been obtained in the relevant legend/footnote and provide the Editorial Office with evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights-holder.
Manuscript submission
Submittal of a manuscript to ILAR Journal implies that the authors of the paper understand and fully accept the policies of the journal as detailed in these Instructions to Authors. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them strictly to ensure that the review and publication of your paper is as efficient and quick as possible. The Editors reserve the right to return manuscripts that are not in accordance with these instructions.
Language Editing
Language editing, if your first language is not English, to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers is optional. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. Please follow this link for additional information about the language editing service. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
Online submission of manuscripts
Manuscripts are submitted electronically. Upon accepting an invitation to write a paper for a theme issue of ILAR Journal, authors will be contacted by the editorial office with instructions on how to submit their paper via journal’s submission portal.
To contact the editorial office, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
Author self-archiving/public access policy
The embargo period for ILAR Journal is 6 months. For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
Preprint 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.
