Conflict of Interest Policy

Conflict of Interest Policy

Journal of Medical Laboratory Science is committed to integrity, transparency, objectivity, and accountability throughout the scholarly publication process. The journal recognizes that competing interests may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the design, conduct, interpretation, evaluation, and publication of research.

Journal of Medical Laboratory Science requires authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and relevant publishing personnel to disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect research integrity or editorial independence.

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when professional judgment, research activities, or editorial responsibilities may be influenced, or reasonably perceived to be influenced, by another interest or relationship.

A competing interest does not necessarily indicate unethical conduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant interest may undermine transparency and confidence in the research or publication process.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

Relevant financial interests may include:

Research grants, sponsorships, or financial support from diagnostic companies, instrument manufacturers, or organizations interested in the findings;
Employment, consultancy fees, honoraria, or paid advisory roles in clinical laboratories or diagnostic industries;
Ownership of patents, shares, intellectual property, or financial interests in diagnostic kits, reagents, software, or medical equipment;
Paid work for diagnostic manufacturers, reference laboratories, healthcare providers, or commercial entities relevant to the research; and
Financial benefits associated with the commercialization, publication, or clinical application of diagnostic tests and laboratory techniques.

Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Relevant non-financial interests may include:

Personal, family, supervisory, or close professional relationships;
Academic competition, professional rivalry, or previous disputes within the medical laboratory science community;
Institutional affiliations or organizational responsibilities (e.g., diagnostic centers, public health labs, accreditation bodies);
Professional or advisory roles in diagnostic companies, medical laboratory associations, regulatory bodies, or public health agencies;
Leadership or active involvement in professional organizations directly concerned with laboratory diagnostics; and
Editorial responsibilities or collaborations that could compromise independent judgment.

Personal beliefs or scientific viewpoints do not automatically constitute conflicts of interest. Disclosure is required when a relevant role, relationship, or commitment could reasonably affect medical laboratory research, diagnostic evaluation, or reporting. Authors are not required to disclose private beliefs unrelated to their work.

Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests during submission.

Authors must:

Identify relationships or interests relevant to the medical laboratory research;
Disclose funding, sponsorship, equipment donation, reagent provision, and relevant institutional support;
Explain sponsors’ roles in research design, assay validation, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and submission;
Ensure that disclosures accurately represent all co-authors;
Notify the Editorial Team of relevant changes during review or publication; and
Include a Conflict of Interest Statement in the manuscript, even when no relevant interests exist.

When No Conflict Exists

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article."

When a Conflict Exists

"Author A received research funding and diagnostic kits from [Company Name]. Author B served as a scientific consultant to [Organization Name] on matters relevant to this study. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest."

Funding and material support must also be reported in the Funding Statement or Acknowledgments. Disclosure in one section does not replace a necessary explanation elsewhere.

A disclosed conflict does not automatically result in rejection. The editor will assess whether adequate safeguards and transparent reporting preserve the integrity of the diagnostic research.

Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose relevant competing interests before accepting an assignment.

Potential conflicts include:

Personal or family relationships with authors;
Recent or ongoing research collaboration;
Supervisory or institutional relationships within the same laboratory or institution;
Direct professional competition or significant disputes;
Financial interests related to the diagnostic methods or commercial kits under evaluation; and
Professional, advisory, or organizational roles directly connected to the medical laboratory product, diagnostic assay, or subject under review.

Reviewers must decline assignments when impartial assessment cannot reasonably be ensured. If a conflict becomes apparent after review has begun, they must promptly inform the handling editor and await instructions.

Under double-blind review, reviewers must not attempt to identify authors. If an author’s identity becomes apparent and creates a potential conflict, the reviewer must notify the editor.

Confidential information obtained through peer review must not be used for personal, professional, financial, organizational, or commercial advantage.

Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors must base decisions on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, analytical accuracy, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

They must disclose interests that could affect manuscript handling, including:

Personal, professional, or supervisory relationships with authors;
Current or recent collaborations in laboratory science research;
Relevant institutional, laboratory, or financial connections;
Direct competition or significant disputes;
Professional or organizational roles relevant to the manuscript, including relationships with diagnostic manufacturers, clinical laboratories, or regulatory bodies; and
Participation as an author or contributor.

Editors must recuse themselves when a relevant conflict could compromise independent judgment. The manuscript must then be assigned to another qualified editor without that conflict.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict, responsibility must be delegated to an independent editor or appropriately qualified Editorial Board member.

Submissions from editors, Editorial Board members, or individuals connected to the publisher must receive independent assessment without preferential treatment.

Institutional and Publisher Conflicts of Interest

Journal of Medical Laboratory Science maintains editorial independence from the financial, administrative, institutional, and organizational interests of its publisher, host institution, sponsors, and partners.

The following principles apply:

Institutional affiliation, financial contributions, and professional connections must not determine acceptance or rejection;
Authors affiliated with the publisher, host institution, or partner diagnostic facilities must meet the same standards as other authors;
Publication charges, advertisements, sponsorships, and commercial arrangements must not influence editorial decisions;
Editors and reviewers must remain free from inappropriate institutional, commercial, or other pressure; and
Relevant institutional interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

Disclosure and Management Procedures

Initial Disclosure: Authors must provide relevant information at submission. Reviewers and editors must disclose interests before undertaking their respective responsibilities.
Editorial Assessment: The Editorial Team evaluates whether a disclosed interest could affect research integrity, reviewer impartiality, or editorial independence.
Management Measures: Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

Request clarification or additional disclosure;
Appoint an independent handling editor;
Replace a reviewer;
Obtain an independent expert assessment;
Require a fuller explanation of funding, reagent sourcing, or organizational relationships; or
Introduce additional safeguards proportionate to the concern.

Documentation: Relevant disclosures and management decisions will be recorded in the journal’s editorial records.
Publication Transparency: Relevant author disclosures will appear in the published article. Confidential information will be protected during assessment, except where disclosure is necessary for publication transparency, ethical investigation, or applicable obligations.

Conflicts of Interest in Medical Laboratory Science Research

Medical laboratory science research frequently involves evaluations of diagnostic instruments, commercial kits, reagents, analytical software, and reference standards provided by commercial or institutional entities. Such relationships must be disclosed when they could influence the design, validation, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of a study.

Authors should disclose relevant relationships involving:

Diagnostic, biotechnology, medical device, and laboratory equipment companies;
Clinical laboratories, reference centers, hospitals, and public health agencies;
Manufacturers, distributors, or suppliers of diagnostic reagents, controls, calibrators, and assays;
Organizations funding diagnostic accuracy studies, assay developments, clinical trial evaluations, or laboratory performance studies;
Contract research organizations (CROs), reference laboratories, and analytical service providers;
Regulatory bodies, laboratory accreditation agencies, and professional medical laboratory associations;
Organizations providing specialized laboratory equipment, software, algorithms, or external quality assessment (EQA) schemes; and
Organizations whose diagnostic devices, reagents, services, or protocols are being evaluated or compared.

An employment, consultancy, advisory, or collaborative relationship with a diagnostic manufacturer or laboratory organization does not automatically invalidate a study. Authors should explain how the relationship may affect study design, access to clinical specimens or data, analysis, interpretation, and reporting, and describe safeguards against bias or undue influence.

Researchers must adhere to ethical standards regarding patient sample usage, biosafety, biosecurity, and data privacy, ensuring accurate reporting of results. Sponsors or commercial partners must not improperly suppress unfavorable diagnostic performance data or require misleading conclusions.

Where disclosure could reveal confidential proprietary information, authors should consult the editor about an appropriate disclosure that preserves transparency while respecting applicable non-disclosure agreements and ethical requirements.

Undisclosed Conflicts and Corrective Actions

When a potentially undisclosed interest is identified before or after publication, Journal of Medical Laboratory Science may:

Request an explanation and supporting documentation;
Assess its relevance to the research, review process, or editorial decision;
Consult independent experts or relevant institutions;
Require an updated declaration;
Publish a correction;
Issue an expression of concern when serious questions remain unresolved; or
Consider retraction when evidence establishes that the article’s reliability, diagnostic validity, or ethical integrity is fundamentally compromised.

Affected individuals will have a reasonable opportunity to respond. Failure to disclose a competing interest does not automatically justify retraction. Any action must be proportionate to the nature and consequences of the omission.

Publication of Conflict of Interest Statements

Every published article must include a Conflict of Interest Statement.

When interests exist, the statement must identify the authors concerned and describe the relevant relationships clearly enough for readers to assess their significance.

When no relevant interests exist, an explicit declaration must be provided. Statements must be accurate and consistent with funding, affiliation, and contribution information elsewhere in the article.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other concerned parties may report undisclosed or improperly managed interests through Journal of Medical Laboratory Science’s official editorial contact channels.

Reports should identify the article or editorial matter, explain the concern, and provide supporting evidence where available.

Appeals will be assessed fairly and, where appropriate, by an independent editor or qualified representative without a relevant conflict. Complaints concerning the Editor-in-Chief must be referred to an appropriate independent editorial or publishing representative.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

Journal of Medical Laboratory Science applies this policy consistently across submissions, regardless of authors’ institutional affiliations, academic positions, professional relationships, industry connections, or financial circumstances.

This policy operates alongside the journal’s policies on Publication Ethics, Peer Review, Authorship and Contributorship, Human and Animal Ethics (including biological sample collection), Allegations of Research Misconduct, and Corrections and Retractions.