The new NIH Public Access Policy (NIHPA) (2024) requires NIH-funded research papers to be available in PubMed Central (PMC) upon their publication (i.e., without embargo). Because many journals require embargo periods on publications, the new policy limits the ways in which authors can achieve compliance. At present, authors can comply with the new policy in the following ways.
- Publish in a journal with a zero-embargo policy
Some journals allow authors to deposit their papers to PMC without embargo periods or costs. Check with your target journal about their embargo policies. Be aware that this allowance might require the author to manage the deposit of their paper to PMC via the NIH Manuscript Submission system (NIHMS).
- Publish in an open access journal
Nearly all journals provide open access publishing options. Typically, those options include Green, Gold, and Hybrid models. The Green model usually allows authors to deposit various versions of their papers to PMC without embargo periods or costs. The Gold and Hybrid models allow authors to deposit their papers to PMC when they pay an Article Processing Charge (APC). The library has established several open access agreements which provide a discount or waiver of APCs for MD Anderson corresponding authors. You can learn more about these discounts at the link provided below.
NIH Grants & Funding Resources
