In Conversation: F1000 & YCharOS on the importance of antibody characterization data
As part of F1000’s “In Conversation With” series to mark our 10th anniversary, this special episode focuses on the work of the YCharOs project’s open science mission to characterize commercially available antibody reagents for every human protein. In this insightful and inspiring in-conversation, F1000’s James Barker, Associate Publisher responsible for the new F1000 YCharOS Gateway, and Dr Carl LaFlamme of the Montreal Neurological Institute, Head of the YCharOS Antibody Characterization Group, explain the importance of ensuring the specificity of these antibody reagents for researchers working on a range of diseases.
In this discussion, Carl and James explore:
- Why biomedical research is more effective when data on antibody performance is openly and freely available.
- How YCharOS’ antibody manufacturer partners are contributing to the project and responding to the findings, including withdrawing poor performing antibodies and producing new ones to address gaps in the market.
- How the availability of the reports can support researchers globally and particularly in resource limited countries, supporting reproducibility and cutting research waste.
- The role of Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) in linking the characterization reports to the antibody records.
As Carl and James conclude, critical to the success of the YCharOS project is not just the open publication of these antibody characterization reports but the ability for researchers to find and use these findings in their work in laboratories worldwide. This is why the new F1000 YCharOS Gateway is crucial to the end aim of the project, combining completely open science and data with indexing to maximize the openness and discoverability of YCharOs’ antibody characterization reports. Being able to find and access this data helps researchers in their work to combat life-limiting and changing diseases.
Download the transcript:
In Conversation: F1000 & YCharOS on the importance of antibody characterization data
Catch up on our previous In Conversation episodes:
10 years of open research publishing at F1000
The role of science and pan-African research in addressing the challenges facing African countries