microPublication Biology signs first Publish agreement with University of Detroit Mercy
","content":"November 1st, 2026
PASADENA, Calif., and DETROIT, Mich. — microPublication Biology, the open-access journal published by the Caltech Library, has signed a Publish agreement with University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). Under the agreement, UDM pays an annual fee that covers publication costs for its researchers, who can publish an unlimited number of peer-reviewed articles in the journal with no individual article processing charge.
The agreement was signed by microPublication Biology Editor-in-Chief Paul Sternberg, current Chair of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech, and by Provost Pamela Zarkowski on behalf of University of Detroit Mercy. The agreement takes effect today, November 1st, and is the first agreement of its kind for the journal, which marks its tenth anniversary this year.
What the agreement covers
Instead of paying a fee for each article, eligible Detroit Mercy authors are covered by a single institutional agreement.
The waiver applies to corresponding authors who are Detroit Mercy faculty, staff, postdoctoral researchers or graduate students when they submit. Every manuscript still goes through microPublication Biology’s standard peer review, with acceptance remaining an editorial decision.
Why it matters
microPublication Biology publishes short, peer-reviewed reports of experimental results represented in one figure, including new findings, negative results and data that might otherwise go unpublished. When possible, each article is integrated into community databases, such as WormBase, so results become findable and reusable right away.
The partnership began with requests from Detroit Mercy faculty, several of whom held back submissions until the agreement was in place. Detroit Mercy’s University Libraries coordinated the agreement on the university side, and Caltech counsel reviewed it on the journal side.
“This agreement lets Detroit Mercy researchers, including students, share their results without worrying about publication fees. We hope it becomes a model for other institutions,” said Paul Sternberg, Editor-in-Chief of microPublication Biology.
“Supporting open access is central to the Libraries’ mission. This agreement removes a cost barrier for our faculty and students,” said Kate J. Harger, Dean of Libraries at the University of Detroit Mercy.
“Our faculty and students now have a clear, affordable path to publish their research,” said Jacob Kagey, professor and chair of the biology department at University of Detroit Mercy.
Institutions interested in a similar agreement can contact the microPublication Biology team through micropublication.org.
Media contacts: Daniela Raciti, Executive Editor, microPublication Biology — daniela.raciti@micropublication.org; Karen Yook, Executive Editor, microPublication Biology — karen.yook@micropublication.org
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