Alexandre Smirnov - The enduring challenge of setting up a FAIR lab
Group leader of UMR7156 - "Génétique Moléculaire, Génomique, Microbiologie" (GMGM), University of Strasbourg - CNRS
A consensus has been reached that research data must be FAIR. Most researchers understand it as making their data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable during or after the publication process. However, by this stage, it often turns out that some key information about experiments is missing or the experimental design is irreparably incomplete or flawed, questioning the validity of the corresponding datasets. One solution is producing FAIR data from the very inception of the study—rather than trying to make them FAIR post hoc. This requires a FAIR lab, a kind of lab organisation where all ins and outs of the research process can be traced back to their origins, starting with unambiguous identification of samples and reagents, faithful registration of protocols and metadata, and ending by the quality control of final data, their sharing and linking to publications. Acceding to this higher level of responsibility for own research data takes a significant change in lab culture.
Ruth Schmitz-Streit - tba
Director of the Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University (CAU)
Samantha Pearman-Kanza - Once Upon a Lab: A FAIRy Tale of ELNs
Senior Enterprise Fellow at the University of Southampton
With the ever increasing realisation that a majority of scientific research data that is published is not “FAIR” (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) there has been a strong push in recent years to implement digital tools within the labs (namely Electronic Lab Notebooks) to combat this. However, implementing an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) is no mean feat, it is a highly complex sociotechnical endeavour. Furthermore, we need to understand that implementing an ELN is not the end of the journey; digital tools and digitally produced data are arguably no more FAIR than the original paper based lab book if they are not utilised to their full extent. This talk will explore the barriers and considerations that need to be taken into account for a successful implementation, drawn from over a decade of experience of working in this sphere.
