Speaker
Description
Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) play a pivotal role in digitizing laboratory workflows, presenting an opportunity to structure research documentation into reusable metadata. They often facilitate connections between documentation and corresponding research data. However, many ELNs face limitations — such as restricted server space — that complicate the integration of associated files directly onto their platforms.
This presentation focuses on ongoing collaborative efforts between ELN@RWTH, the university-wide central ELN service at RWTH Aachen University, and the DFG-funded project FOR 5599. The specific ELN in question, eLabFTW, allows for data attachments to experiments; however, its university-wide instance is constrained by a storage limit of 500 GB. Thus, the university's centralized data management system, Coscine, provides the storage for larger datasets, yet currently lacks direct integration with the ELN.
Our objective is to support the implementation of a data management policy established by FOR 5599 that stipulates: (1) all data documentation occurs within RWTH Aachen's central eLabFTW platform, and (2) all associated data files are securely stored on Coscine. Achieving this requires robust linking mechanisms across both platforms, along with minimum metadata standards for optimal findability within Coscine. Ultimately, the documentation and data are connected through their metadata, while findability is maintained on both ends.
To streamline this process and eliminate redundant manual entry, we have developed a Python-based solution that mirrors metadata entered in eLabFTW directly to Coscine. This approach not only aims for functionality within FOR 5599 but also seeks to address broader challenges faced by other research groups using both systems.
During this talk, we will present our proposed solution, detailing our objectives, current progress, challenges encountered along the way, and strategies employed or yet to be resolved. We will discuss essential components required for successful integration — including eLabFTW templates and Coscine metadata profiles — and showcase relevant Python code snippets.
The significance of our work lies in its potential to serve as a proof-of-concept for a direct and flexible integration of external storage solutions in eLabFTW, as well as facilitating integrated ELN linking within Coscine. In particular, collaborative projects spanning multiple sites and dealing with large, heterogeneous datasets highlight the need for common standards in data and metadata. We will take a closer look at this and utilize it as a basis for discussion, gathering input and feedback from the audience.
Funding Acknowledgement
We acknowledge funding for Deniz C. Senel through FOR 5599 (DFG project no. 511114185).
