The Journal of Biomolecules, Pathogenesis and Therapeutics (JBPT) may publish Special Issues, Thematic Collections, Focused Series, or other curated scholarly collections addressing important and emerging areas within the journal's scope. All Special Issues remain subject to the journal's standard editorial, ethical, authorship, conflict-of-interest, and peer-review policies. The Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate responsibility for the scientific quality, editorial integrity, ethical compliance, and published record of all content appearing in the journal, including manuscripts handled by Guest Editors.
Guest Editors shall be selected on the basis of relevant academic expertise, research experience, publication record, professional standing, and knowledge of the proposed Special Issue topic. Guest Editors must be independent scholars with appropriate subject expertise in areas relevant to biomolecules, molecular biology, pathogenesis, therapeutics, biomedical sciences, or related disciplines. All Guest Editors must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before appointment. Appointment requires formal approval by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately designated member of the Editorial Board.
Manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue shall undergo the same editorial screening, plagiarism assessment, ethical evaluation, and rigorous peer-review process applied to regular JBPT submissions. Special Issue manuscripts shall not receive preferential treatment because of their association with a Guest Editor, invited collection, conference, institution, or funding source. The Editor-in-Chief or an independent designated editor shall retain oversight of the editorial process and may intervene whenever necessary to ensure impartiality, scientific quality, and compliance with journal policies.
Guest Editors shall not independently handle manuscripts authored or co-authored by themselves, close collaborators, current students, supervisors, institutional colleagues, family members, or individuals with whom they have a significant personal, professional, academic, or financial relationship. Such manuscripts shall be reassigned to an independent editor who has no relevant competing interest. Guest Editors shall not influence reviewer selection, peer-review reports, editorial recommendations, or final decisions concerning conflicted submissions.
Guest Editors may contribute manuscripts to Special Issues they oversee, provided that their submissions are handled independently and receive the same rigorous peer review as all other submissions. Guest Editors shall have no access to confidential reviewer identities, reviewer reports, editorial recommendations, or decision-making information relating to their own submissions. To minimize editorial endogeny and promote diversity of scholarly contributions, manuscripts authored or co-authored by Guest Editors should not normally exceed 20% of the total peer-reviewed content of a Special Issue.
Every Special Issue must have a clearly defined scientific theme that falls within the scope of JBPT. The title, theme, Guest Editor names, affiliations, and relevant editorial information shall be clearly identified on the journal website. The journal shall maintain transparency regarding the relationship between Guest Editors and submitted authors and shall ensure that Special Issue content remains subject to the journal's established publication-ethics requirements.
Editorial Independence: Commercial sponsorship, institutional relationships, conference affiliations, article processing charges, fee waivers, or other financial considerations shall not influence manuscript selection, peer review, editorial recommendations, or publication decisions. Guest Editors and Special Issue organizers shall not promise acceptance, expedited publication, or favorable editorial treatment to prospective authors.
