China-led academic journal to debut soon

Vita, a top-tier international academic journal specializing in life sciences and biomedicine, is scheduled to make its official debut in the spring of 2026.

The publication is a joint venture established by members of the Alliance of Open Life Science. Participating institutions include Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, and the University of Hong Kong. The project is led by Westlake University and hosted by Higher Education Press.

"The name Vita, derived from the Latin word for 'life', precisely reflects the journal's disciplinary focus while also embodying an open and inclusive academic vision that transcends national boundaries," said Li Dangsheng, co-editor-in-chief of the journal.

According to Li, preparations for Vita are progressing steadily. The journal has officially obtained its International Standard Serial Number, and an expert advisory committee has been established with nearly 100 leading scientists from China and abroad. The first batch of original research papers for the inaugural issue has entered the final review stage and will be released online in the first quarter of 2026. The print edition is scheduled for publication in June.

Westlake University told China Daily that the establishment of Vita responds to practical needs arising from China's scientific and technological development. Over the past decade, China has made notable progress in overall research capacity in the life sciences, yet the development of domestic top-tier academic journals has remained relatively weak.

"It has therefore become imperative to build world-class scientific journals that are led by China and widely recognized by the international academic community," said Shi Yigong, president of Westlake University and vice-chair of the council of the Alliance of Open Life Science.

In Aug 15, 2025 universities and research institutions from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong jointly initiated the Alliance of Open Life Science and announced the founding of Vita. At the alliance's annual meeting held in December 2025, membership expanded to 33 institutions, and a dedicated editorial committee for the Vita series was established.

Li, chief scientific officer of the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences, and Shi Yigong, who serves as convener of the alliance's journal committee, were appointed co-editors-in-chief.

In terms of its publishing model, Vita aims to build a professional editorial team to ensure innovation through rigorous standards. The journal is committed to openness; it will not charge authors any article processing costs or publication fees. It seeks to explore a new paradigm in which journals are evaluated primarily by the quality of their published articles.

Meanwhile, the LangTaoSha Preprint Server officially went online on Nov 21, 2025. The platform was jointly developed under the leadership of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation in collaboration with the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Tsinghua University, and Westlake University. The platform is designed to provide an efficient channel for the rapid release and exchange of research findings.

The coordinated development of the journal and the preprint platform offers scientists a streamlined pathway for the dissemination of research results in life sciences and biomedicine.