At AAAS 2017, a pair of panel discussions addressed the reproducibility crisis in science, particularly biomedical science, and suggested that it is manageable, provided stakeholders continue to demonstrate a commitment to quality. One panel, led by Leonard P. Freedman, Ph.D., president of Global Biological Standards Institute (GBSI), was comprehensive. It prescribed a range of initiatives: Drive quality and ensure greater accountability through strengthened journal and funder policies. Create high-quality online training and proficiency testing and make them widely accessible. Engage the research community in establishing community-accepted standards and guidelines in specific scientific areas. Enhance open access to data and methodologies.
Dr. Freedman followed up on GBSI’s Reproducibility2020 challenge and action plan for the biomedical research community. According to Dr. Freedman, GBSI finds that there has been encouraging progress toward significantly improving the quality of preclinical biological research by year 2020.
“By far the greatest progress over these few years has been in stakeholders recognizing the severity of the problem and the importance of taking active steps for improvement,” said Dr. Freedman. “Every stakeholder group is now addressing the issues, including journals, NIH, private funders, academicians, and industry. That’s crucial because there is not one simple fix—it is a community-wide problem and a community-wide effort to achieve solutions.” [Full Article]