New Member: Biomedical Center joins the OSC

The Biomedical Center (BMC) on the Life Science Campus Großhadern/Martinsried brings together eight institutes and chairs of the Medical Faculty with about 55 research groups. As a center for applied cell science it bridges the gap between basic research and clinical application. The BMC researchers explore cell fates and cell plasticity from basic mechanisms to pathology and repair.

"The basic research conducted at the BMC is largely exploratory and thus not very standardized and particularly exposed to the problem of lack of reproducibility", says Dr. Tobias Straub, head of the Core Facility Bioinformatics at the BMC. To address this, the BMC has set itself the goal of implementing Open Science standards and practices across the institute. The focus is on the core topics 'Experimental Design', 'Documentation' and 'Data Management' in line with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable). Pioneering work needs to be done in the development of guidelines and structures, as Tobias Straub points out, since there is very limited experience with corresponding practices in the field of exploratory basic biomedical research so far. Networking with the OSC is therefore particularly valuable for the BMC to exchange experiences, learn about best practices from different fields and get in touch with experts on open science topics.