Journal profile · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cell Biology
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
ISSN 2296-634X · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.26; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 55 days to acceptance (184 articles, last 24 months); 1,164 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; flagged on an early-warning list or for an indexing change: check before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research, RNA modifications and cancer and Epigenetics and DNA Methylation, together about 22.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on the fundamental biological processes of life. Led by Field Chief Editor Prof Amanda Gay Fisher (University of Oxford, UK), this journal is indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, Web of Science (SCIE), and the DOAJ, among others, and welcomes submissions on intracellular and extracellular dynamics. The journal covers a wide spectrum of topics within cell and developmental biology including, but not limited to: cancer cell biology cell adhesion and migration cell death and survival cell growth and division cellular biochemistry chromosome and chromatin biology embryonic development epigenomics and epigenetics evolutionary developmental biology membrane traffic and organelle dynamics molecular and cellular pathology molecular and cellular reproduction morphogenesis and patterning signaling stem cell research. In addition, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is interested in fundamental and translational research in molecular medicine and stem cell biology. The journal also welcomes submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3: good health and well-being. Manuscripts that consist solely of Bibliometric studies, Mendelian Randomization, or computational studies of public data are not accepted for publication in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. Such manuscripts might be submitted to another Frontiers Journal when appropriate and must adhere to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy. Additionally, studies that only report the therapeutic efficacy of certain compounds or treatments without providing insights into the underlying cellular and developmental biology mechanisms are not within the scope of this journal. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is committed to advancing developments in the field by allowing unrestricted access to articles and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Ethics Statement: All manuscripts submitted to Cell and Developmental Biology that have been conducted in human subjects must conform with current regulations and the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethics committee approval and informed patient consent are required for studies involving human subjects. Ethics committee approval is also needed for studies involving animals. Frontiers follows the guidelines and best
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cell Biology
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 7, Italy 2, United Kingdom 1, Germany 1, France 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.8%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.3%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.3%
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosisMedicine5.3%
- Extracellular vesicles in diseaseBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
- Autophagy in Disease and TherapyMedicine4.4%
- Mesenchymal stem cell researchMedicine4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
Early warning / risk: CAS Early Warning Journal List: listed in the 2021 edition (low risk); not listed in the other 5 editions.LetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCEmbasePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 5.26LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 9.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.56LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 176OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,270OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.75OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,050LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 13,986 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,237 | 1,237 | 638 |
| 2025 | 1,164 | 1,164 | 5,556 |
| 2024 | 933 | 933 | 9,627 |
| 2023 | 1,372 | 1,372 | 19,654 |
| 2022 | 2,759 | 2,759 | 56,154 |
| 2021 | 3,891 | 3,891 | 120,652 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
55 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 41 days – 76 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (184 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 82 days
- Sample
- 184 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,533 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | Yes | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
APCs apply to articles accepted for publication following rigorous peer review. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2296-634X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Developmental Biology / Cell Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.26; CiteScore 9.9, h-index 176.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 184 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 55 days (interquartile range 41–76 days); authors report an average review time of about 12 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (7), Italy (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .