Lund University, Department of Translational Medicine: Enhancing sample management with eLabInventory

“eLabInventory has been a game-changer for our lab at Lund University. Its intuitive interface and robust tracking capabilities have dramatically streamlined our sample management, turning what was once a time-consuming task into a swift and effortless process. I’m thoroughly impressed with how eLabInventory has transformed our daily operations and would highly recommend it to any lab facing similar challenges.”

Sviataslau Sasinovich, PhD, Research Engineer

About Lund University, Department of Translational Medicine

Lund University, located in the historical city of Lund, Sweden, is renowned for its pioneering research across multiple fields of medicine. The Department of Translational Medicine is one of six departments at the Faculty of Medicine, encompassing diverse research areas, including clinical virology with a particular focus on viruses. Within this department, three dedicated research teams utilise eLabInventory to enhance their research efficiency and data management: Systems Virology, HIV-1 and HIV-2 Host Interactions, and Clinical Virology. These teams specialise in experimental, epidemiological, and point-of-care research related to viral infections, driving critical innovations in translational medicine. With over 20 years of combined efforts, the department’s work is instrumental in advancing medical research and improving healthcare outcomes. The teams consist of research scientists, lab technicians, and principal investigators, collaborating in shared lab spaces to achieve their research goals.

Goals

Short-term: The primary short-term goal for the research teams was to resolve pressing sample management issues. Implementing digital lab tools was essential to enable research groups to efficiently track and manage a large volume of diverse samples, ensuring quick and accurate access while maintaining the integrity of their research.

Long-term: In the long term, the teams aim to streamline other research processes to keep up with increasing research demands. By fully integrating digital lab solutions, the University aspires to enhance overall efficiency, facilitate collaboration, and support the publication of its findings, contributing valuable knowledge to the scientific community.

Challenges

Prior to adopting eLabJournal and eLabInventory, the research teams—Systems Virology, HIV-1 and HIV-2 Host Interactions, and Clinical Virology—faced significant organizational challenges in managing their extensive collection of samples. The research groups had accumulated thousands of samples over years of research, creating a pressing need for an efficient and reliable tracking system. The existing methods, which included using Excel and Google Sheets, were becoming increasingly inadequate. These traditional approaches were prone to errors and time-consuming, lacking the necessary functionality to support the lab’s growing needs.

The inefficiency in sample management was not only time-wasting but also posed a risk to the integrity of the research. Finding specific samples could take up to an hour at times, diverting valuable time away from research activities. The lab required a user-friendly solution that could streamline operations, enhance data integrity, and ensure quick and accurate access to samples.

Solution

The teams discovered eLabNext through an online search. After evaluating more than ten different sample tracking solutions, they decided to adopt eLabJournal for its superior functionality, ease of use and cost-effectiveness.

eLabJournal with eLabInventory provided a comprehensive solution that met all of the lab’s specific requirements for sample management and organisation. The implementation process took just a few days, and the setup was smooth and integrated well with the existing lab operations. The platform’s intuitive interface and robust features offered a significant upgrade from the previous methods.

Results

The adoption of eLabJournal has significantly transformed the way research teams manage their laboratory processes. The inventory browser feature has revolutionised how the lab tracks all generated and used samples, providing comprehensive visibility over sample use and the associated data from previous experiments. The system has become invaluable in managing the vast amounts of samples typically used in diverse research projects.

Beyond sample management, the researchers at Lund have also benefited from additional features. The enhanced data organisation capabilities of eLabNext have streamlined the recording of research activities, making experiments and data more organised and accelerating the documentation process. This improvement has allowed staff to keep pace with the demands of large genetic screening programs.

The platform has also significantly simplified protocol management. Researchers can now easily upload, generate, and link protocols and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to specific experiments, enhancing compliance and efficiency in daily operations. Furthermore, eLabNext has fostered a more collaborative and transparent environment within the lab, making experiments, samples, data and protocols readily accessible to all team members involved. This accessibility is crucial for a dynamic research environment where team integration and data sharing are essential.

The most notable result of implementing eLabJournal, though, has been the drastic reduction in time spent locating samples. What previously could take up to an hour now takes less than a minute. This efficiency gain has significantly boosted productivity, allowing more time for research and less for managing logistics. Overall, the lab has seen a remarkable improvement in efficiency and accuracy, leading to more streamlined operations and better research outcomes.

Future Plans

Lund University intends to continue leveraging eLabNext solutions to enhance its research capabilities. As the Department of Translational Medicine facilities continue to expand, eLabJournal and eLabInventory will keep providing critical support in managing complex data and workflows. By adopting digital lab management tools, the lab is now well-placed to maintain its position at the cutting edge of medical research and continue to drive its mission of contributing valuable knowledge to the scientific community.

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