Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
source
Title	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Abbreviation	PNAS
Discipline	Multidisciplinary science
Publisher	National Academy of Sciences
Country	United States
History	1914–present
Frequency	Weekly
Impact	12.779 (2020)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the National Academy of Sciences (United States), established to communicate research across the natural and social sciences. The journal has published work spanning fields represented by institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford, attracting submissions from researchers affiliated with organizations including the National Institutes of Health, NASA, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Max Planck Society, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

History

The journal was founded in 1914 by members of the National Academy of Sciences (United States), influenced by contemporaneous periodicals such as Science (journal) and Nature (journal), and preceded by meetings comparable to those of the Royal Society. Early editorial figures included academicians associated with Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Yale University, and Princeton University, while the journal’s formation occurred amid initiatives similar to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution and the expansion of the United States Geological Survey. During the mid-20th century, PNAS paralleled developments at Bell Labs, Rockefeller University, Salk Institute, and Los Alamos National Laboratory by publishing landmark papers in biology, chemistry, and physics. The journal’s editorial structure evolved alongside reforms observed at Nature (journal) and Science (journal), adapting to changes in scholarly communication driven by organizations like the American Association for the Advancement of Science and funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Scope and content

PNAS covers original research across domains represented by institutions such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Imperial College London, University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology. Content types mirror practices at journals like Cell (journal), The Lancet, and Journal of the American Chemical Society, including research reports, commentaries, and colloquia. Disciplines frequently represented include work from laboratories affiliated with Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Rockefeller University, Broad Institute, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The journal has historically published contributions linked to projects like the Human Genome Project, Hubble Space Telescope observations, Large Hadron Collider collaborations, and ecological studies tied to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Editorial and peer review process

PNAS employs an editorial framework influenced by models used at Nature (journal), Science (journal), and Cell (journal), with oversight by academicians drawn from institutions such as University of Chicago, University of California, San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Duke University. The peer review process involves referees affiliated with organizations including the Royal Society, Academia Sinica, Australian Academy of Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, and European Research Council. Editorial decisions have been shaped by policies comparable to those at Proceedings of the Royal Society B and PNAS Symposiums while responding to procedural debates occurring at Science (journal) and Nature (journal). The journal has instituted safeguards and conflict-of-interest policies modeled after guidelines from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and standards endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Impact and reception

PNAS has been cited alongside publications from the Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (United States), and major university presses, contributing influential papers cited by researchers at Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Columbia University. Its impact factor has been compared with those of Nature (journal), Science (journal), Cell (journal), and disciplinary outlets such as The Lancet and Journal of Biological Chemistry. Reception among scholars has ranged from praise by academics at Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to critique from commentators associated with Retraction Watch, ScienceAlerts, and editorial debates involving bodies like the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Notable articles and controversies

PNAS has published seminal articles linked to the Human Genome Project, landmark studies by researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Broad Institute, and influential ecological models related to work at the Smithsonian Institution. Controversies have included disputes over editorial practices similar to those that affected Nature (journal) and Science (journal), high-profile retractions noted by Retraction Watch, and debates over authorship and conflict of interest reported by outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Specific incidents drew attention from scholars at Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, and commentators from The Guardian and Scientific American.

Access and publication model

PNAS operates a mixed access model reflecting trends at publishers like the Public Library of Science, Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley-Blackwell, offering subscription access while providing open-access options for authors affiliated with institutions such as Princeton University, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, Australian National University, and Peking University. The journal’s policies align with mandates from funders including the National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust, the European Commission, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and it participates in digital dissemination platforms used by PubMed Central, CrossRef, ORCID, and the Directory of Open Access Journals.

Category:Academic journals