Skip to main content

Quick peer review for $125

Immunology journal offers response in 2 weeks and uses pay as an incentive for reviewers

Written byJohn Dudley Miller
| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00

If you're tired of waiting months to get your latest research manuscript peer reviewed, a small medical research journal has a deal for you: send in $125 with your paper, and you'll get your review in just 14 days, guaranteed, or your money back.

The Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research started making the offer in 1997 out of frustration. “I just got fed up with people taking too long to review,” said Larry Lachman, a professor at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and one of the journal's two founding editors in chief. He got the idea from a former fraternity brother who had used it when he started an accounting journal.

The key to the offer's success is that both peer reviewers receive $50 if they meet the 2-week deadline. The other $25 goes to pay for extra overnight shipping charges. “After the $50, very rarely did ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member?
Add The Scientist as a preferred source on Google

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Meet the Author

Related articles background image
August 2026 Digest cover
August 2026

Epic Fail: Sea-Monkeys Sabotage Fieldwork

When Barry Hicks set out to photograph thrombolites, thousands of unexpected visitors photobombed his underwater images.

View this Issue
Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

cytiva logo
Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Miltenyi
Scientist holding a clear 384-well PCR microplate in a laboratory

What Dictates PCR Success Before Amplification Begins?

Integra Logo
Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Axion Biosystems

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches European Newsletter Campaign with Exclusive Welcome Gifts

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches SuperNuclease ® Pro with Free Trial Program

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches Precisely Characterized Full-Length p-Tau217 Protein to Advance Next-Generation Alzheimer’s Biomarker Assay Development

A photo of a scientist placing the Resipher device on a 96-well plate.

Resipher: Continuous Live-Cell Mitochondrial Respiration Monitoring in 96-Well Plates

Lucid Scientific logo