Checklist for initial submissions – must be submitted as a separate file with your manuscript

Your manuscript will be subject to a quality check by Editor in Chief (EiC). This is to ensure that EiC and
peer-reviewers have all the information required for processing your manuscript.

Please review the checklist before submitting - manuscripts that do not comply will be rejected.

Please ensure that all author information entered into Editorial Manager and in your manuscript is
accurate.

Should you have any questions regarding this checklist, please contact dmid@elsevier.com

Submission Files
File Formats Notes Uploaded

Cover letter doc, docx, pdf Will be seen by the EiC,

but not the reviewers
Article doc, docx, pdf One file permitted
Figures MS Office, TIFF, JPEG Digitized images 300 DPI if
possible.
Table MS Office Placed at end of article text
or as separate files

Notes:
Cover letter file: The cover letter must explicitly indicate why the manuscript is relevant for DMID, what
information presented is novel, makes a new contribution to the literature, and why the manuscript would
be of interest to DMID readers.

Suggesting reviewer: Authors are required to submit the names of 5 potential reviewers, who are not from
the author’s own institution, who are not conflicted with the work (i.e., previous publications or grant awards
in the last 3 years), and are internationally known and published in the field under consideration. For non-
US authors, 3 of the 5 reviewers must be from another country.
Article File Completed

TITLE

Exactly matches the title entered on the submission system and in any supplementary information
AUTHORS

A maximum of three corresponding author(s) are identified using an asterisk

All author (corresponding and contributing) details are included on the submission system as well as in
the Article
File
Affiliations are provided and linked to authors with superscript numbers
The individual contribution of each author is specified in the author contributions statement
For papers with consortia as part of the authorship, please include the consortium name as a main author Yes
in the author list on the title page. Please provide a full list of members of this consortium at the end of N/A
your Article file, after the references, providing affiliations marked by superscript numbers as per the main
author list. The consortium name should also be entered as an author on the submission system, together
with the contact details of a nominated consortia representative.
ABSTRACT

Exactly matches the abstract entered on the submission system and adheres to word length guidelines
for full length and Note formats.
Does not contain citations
MAIN TEXT

Main text adheres to word length guidelines for full length and Note formats. No footnotes
METHODS

Included in main Article File and contain sufficient detail to repeat experiments
For experiments involving live vertebrates and/or higher invertebrates, the Methods section must include Yes
a statement that both: (i) identifies the institutional and/or licensing committee that approved the N/A
experiments; and (ii) confirms that all experiments were performed in accordance with relevant named
guidelines and regulations.

MAIN TABLES
Main tables are either provided in the Article File, or as separate files, in an editable format (not
embedded as an image in the document)
Articles reporting Randomized controlled trials must be presented according to the CONSORT Yes
guidelines. Authors must provide the CONSORT checklist accompanied by a flow diagram that N/A
illustrates the progress of patients through the trial, including recruitment, enrollment, randomization,
withdrawal and completion, and a description of the randomization procedure. Articles reporting findings
from for diagnostic testing must adhere to STARD standard for diagnostic evaluation.

Clinical trials must be registered, and the registration number should be included at the end of the Yes
abstract of the article. N/A
For experiments involving human subjects (or tissue samples) the Methods section must include a Yes
statement that: (i) identifies the institutional and/or licensing committee that approved the experiments; N/A
(ii) confirms that all experiments were performed in accordance with relevant named guidelines and
regulations; and (iii) confirms that informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their legal
guardians
Please note: (i) study participant names (and other personally identifiable information) must be removed Yes
from all text/figures/tables/images; (ii) the use of coloured bars/shapes or blurring to obscure the N/A
eyes/facial region of study participants is not an acceptable means of anonymisation. For manuscripts
that include information or images that could lead to identification of a study participant, the Methods
section must include a statement that confirms informed consent was obtained to publish the
information/image(s).
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS STATEMENT
Author contributions statement, specifying the individual contribution of each author, is provided. This
should be included after the references, and every author’s contribution must be listed
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Competing interests statement has been completed on the submission system. Competing financial and
non-financial interests should be disclosed- stated for each author at the end of the manuscript and
before the references.
LEGENDS
A legend is provided for each main table and main figure in the Article file. These should be placed at the
end of the manuscript, after the references
REFERENCES
In a numbered list and all in-line citations should be matched back to a reference via numbering in square
brackets

MAIN FIGURES

Where cropped gels/blots are displayed, this should be noted in the figure legend; full-length/uncropped
gels and blots should be included in a Supplementary Information file

LANGUAGE

Spelling and grammar must be checked before submission. Your research peers or professional
language editors can help with the language check. Language service is also available with a cost, please
see details here https://webshop.elsevier.com/language-editing-services/language-editing/.