MEET YOUR NIH RIGOR & REPRODUCIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

According to the NIH, the cornerstones of science advancement are rigor in designing and performing scientific research and the reproducibility of biomedical research findings.’ 

A 2015 study by the journal Nature found that poor materials made the largest contribution to reproducibility problems, at 36%, followed by study design at 28% and data analysis at 26%. The team estimates the overall rate of irreproducibility at 53%, but cautions that the true rate could be anywhere between 18% and 89%. That puts the potential economic cost of irreproducibility anywhere from $10 billion to $50 billion per year.

HOW DOES WICELL ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY?


  • WiCell offers cell lines with release testing that follows best practice in the research process.
  • WiCell offers best-practice services that will help you and your lab ensure that your time and research dollars are not wasted!
  • WiCell’s Short Tandem Repeat (STR) and Karyotype tests can be used to address the NIH’s new grant application guidance regarding the authentication of key biological resources. 

Key take-aways from NIH’s blog post on "Scientific Rigor" published January 29, 2016, by the NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research include:
 

  • “Key cell lines might be authenticated by chromosomal analysis or short tandem repeat (STR) profiling.”
  • “Include a plan to independently verify the identity and activity of the product before use.” 

  • “If the product will be used long-term, consider the stability of the product and how the validity of the product will be assessed over time.”