Citing CTSI

NIH Public Access Compliance Instructions

Manuscripts that fall under NIH Public Access Policy must be uploaded by an author, publisher or a delegate to PubMed Central (not the same as PubMed), depending on the method the publisher has mandated for a given journal. CTSI investigators and scholars who are not familiar with the process are urged to contact the CTSI. The below materials may also be helpful.

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Instructions Sheets

NIH Public Access Policy Checklist for CTSI Investigators and Scholars

This handout provides a detailed list of steps for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. It also includes suggestions for receiving assistance from the CTSI at all stages of this process.

NIH Public Access Policy Checklist

NIH Public Access Policy Submission Methods

This chart compares the four methods that are used by publishers or authors to comply with NIH Public Access Policy. It also includes useful links to help authors determine the level of support that a given publisher or journal will likely provide.

NIH Submission Methods Chart

NIH Public Access Policy FAQs

PubMed is a database of citations and abstracts for more than 26 million articles. PMC is an electronic archive of full-text journal articles, offering free access to its contents. PMC contains more than 3 million articles, most of which have a corresponding entry in PubMed.
Source: PMC FAQs


In fact, the journal Nature reports that authors’ failure to understand the difference between PubMed and PubMed Central is the most frequently offered reason for their noncompliant articles.
Source: NIH will withhold grant money to enforce public-access policy

The NIH Public Access Policy is based on a law that requires investigators to submit "their final, peer-reviewed" manuscripts to PubMed Central.
Final peer-reviewed manuscript: The Investigator's final manuscript of a peer-reviewed paper accepted for journal publication, including all modifications from the peer review process. 
Final published article: The journal’s authoritative copy of the paper, including all modifications from the publishing peer review process, copy editing and stylistic edits, and formatting changes.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions about the NIH Public Access Policy


Note: Galley proofs and other intermediate versions of the article created after acceptance by the publisher are not substitutes for the final peer reviewed manuscript.
Always retain a copy of the final peer-reviewed manuscript as you may need it to comply with public or open access policies.

Researchers should cite grant UL1TR001881 as shown below. K Scholars and TL1 trainees have alternate citations, also shown below.

Researchers cite grant UL1TR001881, as follows:
“This research was supported by NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) UCLA CTSI Grant Number UL1TR001881.”

K scholars cite grant KL2TR001882, as follows:
"This research was supported by NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) UCLA CTSI Grant Number KL2TR001882."

TL1 trainees cite grant TL1TR001883, as follows:
"This research was supported by NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) UCLA CTSI Grant Number TL1TR001883."

Note: If the research was supported by more than one grant, please reference all relevant grant numbers.

CTSI resources include:

  • Awards, including Pilot funds and voucher awards
  • Biostatistical support
  • Career development awards (e.g., KL2 and TL1)
  • Cohort finding tools and precision health/genomics data
  • Clinical & Translational Research Centers
  • Reliance-Review IRB
  • Research cores
  • Consultations:
    • Bioinformatics
    • Biostatistics
    • Community-engaged research
    • Cohort finding
    • Data analysis
    • Data management
    • Ethics
    • Evaluation
    • Health services research
    • Implementation and dissemination
    • Participant recruitment and study management
    • Preclinical development
    • Regulatory services
    • Special populations
    • Study design
    • Trial Innovation Network (i.e., central IRB, recruitment plans)