Communication in the lab

Good communication is essential in any job and science is no exception. Communication in the laboratory takes many forms. Lab members must all communicate with each other on a day to day basis to know what reagents need re-ordering and where things are stored. As I mentioned in a previous blog,  lab members often teach each other, and new lab members, new techniques and share information about new developments in the laboratory reagents available or new technology. They also share modifications to protocols they’ve tried. Lab members must also communicate with the lab head to report their progress and discuss concerns or ideas.

Lab managers

Both the head of the lab and the lab members will need to communicate regularly with the lab manager, if there is one, to ensure the

Every lab has it’s own set of scientific protocols, standard techniques that it routinely uses and that new members of the lab need to learn. Some protocols are fairly routine and can be looked up in a practical manual and followed as they are but often a lot of time and effort goes into developing them. Various protocols might have been tried and combined to produce exactly the right protocol for the needs of that particular lab. Even with standard protocols that work well there is often a need to optimize the preparation of the specimens used, for example in molecular biology protocols the method of extraction for the DNA, RNA or protein will depend on the source.

Well written clear protocols are a key resource for getting new members of the lab up to speed. Joining a new lab is a challenging time and there is often much to learn:

• who everyone is
• what they do and what they know about
• where everything is
• who is responsible for what
• how to order things
• what the local rules are for waste disposal
• and of course new techniques/protocols

Have a central electronic repository of Protocols

A central repository for research protocols makes a lot of sense but paper copies can end up being out of date having been optimized and updated by numerous lab members over time. A central electronic repository that everyone has access to is really the best solution, if protocols are adapted for slightly different purposes different modified forms can be saved. Biodata not only allows everyone access to this vital resource, it is then quick and simple for anyone to look up where the different reagents are stored (If this is not included in the protocol) and the ordering details so that reagents can be quickly and easily re-ordered which can help to streamline laboratory management.



Enhance Lab Communication

Having a resource like this for protocol management helps the lab to run smoothly and even promotes good lab communication, lab members won’t always think to mention that they’ve tried a slightly different reagent or developed a modified form of the protocol but when lab members are encouraged to keep an electronic record of their protocols up to date and accessible, everyone can easily see what’s been tried. With the comment function within Biodata making it so easy to discuss things online and email alerts to let people know something new has been added, everyone will be able to stay up to date with the latest developments of their colleagues.

Some techniques require a level of practical skill that can’t easily be learnt from a written protocol, these often take some time and practice to master and really need to be learnt from someone in the lab already accomplished in the technique. Easily accessible up to date protocols help both the person learning and the person teaching. It’s always useful to have something to annotate rather than having to write everything down whilst watching, or trying to carry out, the protocol for the first time. Good protocols are detailed and clear so the person learning can see what the next stages will be and make some sense of what they are doing. Having them centrally available to all lab members means the person teaching doesn’t have to run around to find the protocol and make a copy, if they are detailed and up to date they also serve as a prompt so that nothing gets forgotten.

Tagging your Protocols

Another really useful feature of Biodata is tags, this makes protocols easy to find and identify without having to browse the whole collection, there might be one protocol for genomic DNA extraction from adult flies, for example, and another for extraction from embryos, tags allow each to be identified easily. Everyone tends to title their protocols in different ways and using tags means that the person searching for the protocol doesn’t have to know the exact title that was used.

So my protocol for protocols is:

• Make sure they are clearly written and detailed
• Have them stored somewhere convenient that everyone can access
• Use tags so that they are easy to find
• Encourage everyone to update them or comment on them online so that best practice is always shared

About Samantha Alsbury

Samantha graduated from the University of East Anglia with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics having spent a very lovely year in San Diego as part of her studies. For her postgraduate degree she moved to London, a place she has called home ever since. Her doctoral research into the role of heat shock proteins and ageing in neurons led her to question how the nervous system develops. She is now a post-doctoral researcher at King’s College in London and her current research is focused on trying to understand how nerves are guided to their correct targets as they grow. Samantha is compensated for contributing to BioData blogs.

As I prepared for my trip to the Lindau, Germany for the 61st meeting of Nobel Laureates, I decided that for the first time in 4 years, I was going to leave my laptop home. In its place was an iPad 2 supplied by BioData that I have been incorporating into my daily routine over the past few weeks.  I’ve equipped my iPad with Apps that make it ideal for doing science and traveling, Papers, GoodReader, Notes, and BioData. With Papers I have access to all of my papers, Good Reader allows me to mark them up as I would if they were printed, Notes allows me to easily write notes from the talks, and BioData allowed me to keep up to date on experiments that were happening back home in my absence. With this tool kit I set out on my journey to interact with Nobel Laureates and young researchers from around the world.








The meeting was focused on Medicine & Physiology with the theme of Global Health. Nobel Laureates gave 30 min presentations in the mornings of each day and the afternoons sessions gave us opportunities to ask questions about science, life, and why we do what we do. While each laureate has taken a unique path, throughout the week a few major themes stood out that I’d like to highlight with a few quotes.

1. Do what interests you.

“go for the most interesting project, not the least risky” –Elizabeth Blackburn

All of the laureates emphasized the need to find what drives you and pursue it.  For Elizabeth Blackburn it was the curiosity to know what controls telomere length, for Roger Tsien it was his love for colors, and for Peter Agre it was his desire to improve global health.

2. Do Good Science

“lab notebook, write down what you’re going to do and check it off when you’ve done it, take good notes!” -Oliver Smithies

This sounds obvious, but what does it mean in todays competitive scientific environment. Prof. Smithies highlighted the need to keep a good notebook by showing us his own notebook from an experiment he performed earlier this year, meticulously documented, steps checked off when complete, notes and observations in the margins, and an image of a gel pasted in and annotated.  Its attention to detail that enables you to be prepared for the unexpected.  Secondly, doing good science means allowing your data to challenge and refine your hypothesis, not forcing your data to fit your hypothesis.  For me, this is where BioData really shines. I found BioData while I was looking for a better way to document the evolution of a project and all the small changes that I make along the way. In a paper notebook, it can be difficult to quickly look back at an experiment from a year ago or remember why I chose a particular parameter for the experiment. BioData helps me see my understanding of my project grow from the initial experiments to the figure that will end up in a paper. It also helps me easily bring students and collaborators on board to my project, as they can see my progression through the project without having to decipher my notes in my paper lab notebook.

3. Question everything, does it make sense from 1^st principles?

“in the fields of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind“-Louis Pasteur

We must remember that the scientific method never proves a truth, but rather minimizes the probability of alternatives. 99 experiments can support a given hypothesis, but it only takes 1 to prove that it is wrong. As science progresses we are continually rewriting textbooks as our understanding of biology grows. Looking through Nobel Prizes it is easy to see that many of them had to challenge the current paradigm in the field to even start their work. This has challenged me in my own work to ask, what assumptions have I made, what evidence is there to support them, do those explanations make sense, what if they’re wrong?

4. Persistence is key

“Accept your batting average will be low, but hopefully not zero. Accept that your best papers may be rejected from fashionable journals, or may be accepted for the wrong reasons” –Roger Tsien

This goes back to the beginning really. The scientific method takes time and more hypothesis will fail than not, its our passion for the project that propels us through the trials and frustrations.

Now that I’m back in lab, its time to apply these principles. I hope you find these as helpful and challenging as I have.

James Ankrum is a PhD student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. James is taking part in BioData’s iPad beta program and shares his experience.

* Photos from Lindau by C. Flemming/Lindau Nobel.