Journal profile · Mathematics-Applied Mathematics
Frontiers in Systems Biology
ISSN 2674-0702 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Systems Biology: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 2.6 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 76 days to acceptance (84 articles, last 24 months); 28 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Systems Biology is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is classed under Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks, Gene Regulatory Network Analysis and Computational Drug Discovery Methods, together about 36.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Systems Biology is an interdisciplinary, PubMed Central, DOAJ, Scopus and WoS ESCI-indexed journal that breaks down the individualistic silos of modern-day research and promotes integration and systems thinking across scientific fields to achieve answers to life’s biggest questions. With an international editorial board led by Field Chief Editor Prof Yoram Vodovotz (University of Pittsburgh, USA), Frontiers in Systems Biology explores the complexities of biology at a systems level and welcomes submissions that integrate theory, experimentation, and practical application, and that which helps to address fundamental questions that bridge the gap between different disciplines and methods. The journal covers the following subject areas: data and model integration integrative genetics and genomics integrative systems microbiology integrative systems neuroscience integrative systems ecology, evolution, and plant science multiscale mechanistic modeling systems concepts, theory and policy in biology and medicine systems and synthetic immunology translational systems biology and In Silico trials. Manuscripts that use a reductionist approach for genetic and genomic research, studies that focus solely on pre-clinical models or descriptive network models without dynamic representation of biological mechanisms, and machine learning/AI models that focus solely on diagnosis without potential interventions are not suitable for publication in this journal. Please note this journal does not accept mendelian randomization or bibliometric studies. Frontiers in Systems Biology is committed to advancing developments in the field of systems biology research by communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. As part of our commitment to promoting Systems Thinking, we have undertaken a number of webinar events within the journal which can be viewed on the Frontiers in Systems Biology Playlist on YouTube. Frontiers in Systems Biology is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Mathematics-Applied Mathematics
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 11, United Kingdom 1, Netherlands 1, Denmark 1, Saudi Arabia 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology15.5%
- Gene Regulatory Network AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology14.7%
- Computational Drug Discovery MethodsComputer Science6.4%
- Gut microbiota and healthBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Gene expression and cancer classificationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCPublisher 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 (publisher)
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.74LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- h-index
- 18OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 37OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.13OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 25LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 234 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 64 | 64 | 16 |
| 2025 | 28 | 28 | 118 |
| 2024 | 45 | 45 | 295 |
| 2023 | 43 | 43 | 358 |
| 2022 | 46 | 46 | 570 |
| 2021 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
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
76 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 49 days – 115 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (84 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 102 days
- Sample
- 84 articles with submission and acceptance dates (89 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 15 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 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 1,950 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,950 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,125 | 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
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
- 2674-0702
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- 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 Systems Biology
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Systems Biology in?
In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Systems Biology?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.6; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 18.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Systems Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 84 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 76 days (interquartile range 49–115 days); authors report an average review time of about 15 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 Systems 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 Systems Biology based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (11), United Kingdom (1) and Netherlands (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Systems Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Systems Biology is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Systems Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Systems 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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .