Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM) is an Open Access biomedical research journal advancing novel insight into the mechanism, diagnosis and therapy of human disease.
DMM is committed to publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research in disease biology that has significant translational impact at the interface of basic and clinical science. Our content is freely available to our communities of basic and clinical researchers, health professionals, patients and their advocates and families. DMM is interdisciplinary in scope, and covers a diverse range of diseases. We also publish cutting-edge techniques and resources that advance the disease biology field.
DMM is led by an international team of expert research-active Editors, including Editor-in-Chief Liz Patton and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Elaine Mardis, and supported by an outstanding Editorial Advisory Board.
Call for papers: In Vitro Models of Human Disease to Inform Mechanism and Drug Discovery

We invite you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: In Vitro Models of Human Disease to Inform Mechanism and Drug Discovery. This issue will be coordinated by DMM Editor Vivian Li (The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK), alongside Guest Editors Austin Smith (University of Exeter, UK) and Joseph Wu (Stanford University School of Medicine, USA).
Submission deadline: Monday 6 October 2025
The Company of Biologists: celebrating 100 years

Our not-for-profit publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 this year. In a start-of-year Editorial, we reflect on our extraordinary story and events over the past 100 years. We also summarise the Company's current support for our communities and prepare for some inspiring activities.
History of our journals
Read about DMM’s history and explore the journey of each of our sister journals: Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology and Biology Open.
Editorial
DMM Outstanding Paper Prize 2024 winners
DMM announces the winners of the DMM Outstanding Paper Prize for Research and Resources & Methods articles published in 2024: Destynie Medeiros, Karen Ayala-Baylon, Hailey Egido-Betancourt, Christopher Chapleau and Wei Li for their Research Article ('A small-molecule TrkB ligand improves dendritic spine phenotypes and atypical behaviours in female Rett syndrome mice'), and Jasmin Scheurer and Birgit Sauer for their Resources & Methods article ('Histological and functional characterization of 3D human skin models mimicking the inflammatory skin diseases psoriasis and atopic dermatitis’).
Review
The effects of developmental cadmium exposure on health and disease
Michael Cowley and colleagues discuss the current scientific knowledge regarding the effects of cadmium exposure during early life on development and health outcomes. They provide an overview of the models currently used to study developmental cadmium exposure; explore the impacts and mechanisms of early-life cadmium exposure on the placenta, growth and development, and organ systems; and propose key research priorities to inform mitigation strategies for reducing the developmental risks of cadmium exposure.
Editor's choice
An in vitro model of the epithelial airway reveals a key function for EHF in lung homeostasis and disease by Laetitia Pinte, Marta Vila-Gonzalez, Eleanor Williams, Erika Causa, Ricardo Fradique, Tekle Pauzaite, Charlotte Passemar, Silvia Becca, Christopher Gribben, Shiqi Ye, Maha Al-Thani, Fabian Bachinger, Floris Roos, James Nathan, Irina Mohorianu, Andres Floto, Pietro Cicuta and Ludovic Vallier
In this month’s Editor’s choice Research Article, Laetitia Pinte and colleagues describe the development of a platform to investigate the role of EHF in airway clearance and hypoxia.

We explain how their platform paves the way for further studies of airway epithelial homeostasis, which will increase our understanding of the role of EHF in cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases.
New perspectives on disease research
DMM publishes Perspectives – peer-reviewed articles that provide expert analysis of a topic important to the disease research community.
Read our collection of Perspectives from authors presenting new or potentially controversial ideas or hypotheses, to help address future challenges and forge new directions.

Translational lessons from the balanced immune system in bats by Wei Lun Ng and Lin-Fa Wang
Immunometabolism and mitochondria in inflammatory bowel disease: a role for therapeutic intervention? by Claire Adams, Duncan Rutherford, Gareth Jones and Gwo-tzer Ho
The preclinical gap in pancreatic cancer and radiotherapy by Mathias Tesson and Jennifer Morton