Publication Ethics

Stem Cells and Cellular Therapy International is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. Our Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement is based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for scientific publications, including the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by the ICMJE
(https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/)
and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, a joint statement by COPE, WAME, and OASPA
(https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines).

The journal requires its editors to follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) “Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors”
(https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines).

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the representation of another person’s words, ideas, or expressions as one’s own original work. It occurs when an author incorporates someone else’s work into their manuscript without appropriate acknowledgment, with or without the original author’s permission.

The journal also considers self-plagiarism a form of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism occurs when authors reuse substantial portions of their previously published work without proper citation or justification.

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection tools to ensure originality.

Peer Review

Stem Cells and Cellular Therapy International follows a double-blind peer-review process to assess the scientific quality, originality, validity, and relevance of submitted manuscripts.

• Author and reviewer identities are concealed throughout the review process.

• Manuscripts are reviewed by independent experts in relevant subject areas.

• Editorial decisions are based on reviewer recommendations and the manuscript’s alignment with the journal’s scope.

The journal adheres to COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers
(https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers).

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose all potential financial or non-financial conflicts of interest at the time of submission, including employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, funding sources, or expert testimony.

For industry-funded studies, the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript preparation must be clearly stated. If the funder had no role, authors must explicitly declare this.

Conflict of interest disclosures will be published with accepted articles, in accordance with COPE guidelines
(https://publicationethics.org/competinginterests).

Retraction Policy

The journal may retract articles in cases of proven misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, or serious ethical violations.

Retracted articles will be clearly identified, with reasons for retraction stated and links to the original article provided. Retractions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines
(https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines).

Journal Policy on In-House Manuscript Submissions

Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are assigned to an independent editor. The submitting editor is excluded from the peer-review and decision-making process.

Such manuscripts are reviewed by at least two external reviewers, and decisions are made independently to ensure transparency and impartiality.

Patient Consent Forms

For all research involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained from participants or their legal guardians. Participants must be informed about the study objectives, procedures, potential risks, and benefits.

Authors must include a statement confirming informed consent in the Materials and Methods section. The editors may request copies of consent documentation when necessary.

Ethics Committee Approval

All studies involving human subjects must receive approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or an equivalent ethics committee. The approval number and protocol details must be included in the manuscript.

Studies conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki must state this explicitly
https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/

Animal studies must be approved by the relevant institutional animal ethics committee and conducted in accordance with accepted ethical standards.

COPE Core Practices

The journal follows COPE Core Practices applicable to scholarly publishing
https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

These include:

• Allegations of misconduct

• Authorship and contributorship

• Complaints and appeals

• Conflicts of interest

• Data integrity and reproducibility

• Ethical oversight

• Intellectual property

• Journal management

• Peer-review processes

• Post-publication discussions and corrections

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Editor Responsibilities

• Publication Decisions: Editors make decisions based on peer-review reports, scientific merit, and journal scope.

• Fair Review: Manuscripts are evaluated without discrimination.

• Confidentiality: Editors and staff maintain confidentiality of submissions.

• Disclosure: Editors must not use unpublished material without author consent.

• Editorial Integrity: Editors ensure accuracy, transparency, and timely corrections or retractions when required.

Author Responsibilities

• Originality: Submitted work must be original and accurate.

• Multiple Submissions: Manuscripts must not be submitted to multiple journals simultaneously.

• Authorship: All contributors must be appropriately credited.

• Conflicts of Interest: All conflicts must be disclosed.

• Corrections: Authors must notify editors of significant errors post-publication.

Reviewer Responsibilities

• Confidentiality: Manuscripts must be treated as confidential.

• Objectivity: Reviews should be constructive and unbiased.

• Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must decline reviews where conflicts exist.

• Timeliness: Reviews should be completed within agreed timelines.

• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should report relevant uncited work or overlaps.

Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher supports editorial independence and adheres to ethical publishing standards. Commercial interests do not influence editorial decisions.

The publisher ensures long-term digital preservation and accessibility of published content through appropriate archiving systems.

Penalties

Duplicate Submission

Manuscripts found to be under consideration elsewhere will be rejected immediately. Authors may be restricted from future submissions for a defined period.

Duplicate Publication

Confirmed duplicate publications will be retracted, and the authors’ institutions may be notified.