remotasks biology experts

remotasks biology experts

The Role of Remote Biology Experts in Advancing Scientific Research

1. Introduction to Remote Biology Experts

There are reports from various fields detailing the experiences of working with remote experts. For example, quantitative biologists write about their collaborations with engineers who apply their sophisticated statistical methods in a variety of problems. Foresters are using remote geneticists to interpret and apply Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data. In turn, data analysts complain they can’t get any wet labs to validate hypotheses that were derived from big data. Statisticians worry whether the hypothesis was relevant in the first place. Managers of large-scale NGS research projects are disappointed in the field’s ability to interpret the data, let alone convert the torrent of data into real biological knowledge. In short, the brief revival of data-driven projects has created many problems in heterogeneous multi-scale biological research organizations unable to manage their newly acquired quantitative needs. The biology-data disconnect has been voiced many times before. Certainly, not all scientists are in agreement with the idea that all biologists need to be seasoned statistical experts to be able to interpret data from various sources.

In this blog, we would like to propose a different approach for connecting biology with advanced data collection and analysis, one that builds upon existing collaborations of experimental fields with remote researchers. Additional skill sets are required, which are often available only outside the immediate research environment. The question we address here is: what constitutes a useful interaction between a scientist that captures experimental data and one who is an expert that develops, interprets, and applies quantitative models for understanding the same data? However, when the experiments and the analyses are successfully performed by different people, the boundary of applicable questions to be addressed by advanced quantitative methods may expand. In some cases, allowing someone else to do your thinking may be a good recipe for success.

2. Benefits and Challenges of Utilizing Remote Biology Experts

Scientific research and innovation play key roles in the advancement and prosperity of an individual country and the global community as a whole. Collaboration and multidisciplinary approaches within and across countries are increasingly crucial for addressing complex challenges such as energy, climate change, water supply, food security, and medical advancement. Engineers and scientists alike have started to apply creative thinking about new ways of accomplishing their research objectives. Such exploratory activities and firsthand connections between possible collaborators, however, have been obstructed by time, distance, and other constraints. As a result, various tools and methods that fall under the broader area of telecollaboration are helping scientists to adapt to these challenges.

It is commonly recognized and appreciated that expert knowledge is typically required to solve many biology-related tasks, in addition to the need for and relevance of providing (non-biology) remote (engineering) expertise beyond the scope of traditional academic boundaries. The study of Poppinga et al. showed that students were significantly more motivated and interested in a scientific research program if they also had the opportunity to work with practicing scientists, and not only their academic teachers.

The interactive exploration required by a remote biology expert, using real data, contextual knowledge, and expertise in the lab, is generally more challenging to accomplish and deliver than remote engineering expertise. Furthermore, remote biology expert advice (interactive assistance) can also take longer than remote engineering expert advice. Additionally, biology experts may not have the time to engage in longer informal assignments, especially for very large data sets, unless they are part of the study team. Timing is often an important influence for providing any type of remote expertise. Delays or scheduling factors commonly result in providing preliminary findings for a requested study and, almost always, alter the task or goal itself. Additionally, there can be many other reasons why expert advice is not used or followed, including implicitly entraining the remote expert solution, even though it is known further exploration and solutions can be derived, or results can be taken out of context, just to name a few.

During an algae study task, Wojdak noted the distinct disadvantage of entirely relying on being informed how to identify algae by an expert, without the students obtaining sufficient experience in practicing key operational taxonomic unit (OTU) identifications by themselves. Students and researchers do benefit if they are able to recognize light and dark microscopy spatial structures and significantly pass judgment based on their own genera/taxa assessment to the classification process.

3. Case Studies: Successful Applications of Remote Biology Experts

Three research case studies below are organized in increasing level of activity of the remote biology expert: sample and metadata collection, interpretation, and model design. Insets show stages on the plant phenotyping pipeline, where activity gains importance in the phenotyping process.

3.1 WateRice: A Participatory Breeding Program Targeting Rainfed Conditions

Case Study 1: Remote Participation in Traditional Plant Breeding. In the context of this case study on rice plant breeding for rain-fed conditions (WateRice), the remote biology expert visited fellow neighbors in the Meta y Caquetá area in Colombia instructed local researchers who implement experimental activities. Using her expertise in the plant modeling area (CLM), the expert gave instructions to a local assistant (in person or via Skype) on sampling methodology, data quality analysis, and data processing of UAV imagery. With such a strategy, the expert established a partnership with the WateRice project that allowed scientific exchange with researchers working on plant phenotyping for agronomic traits important in plant breeding but originated from a different scientific community.

3.2 Wheat TILLING

Case Study 2: Biotic and Abiotic Traits and High-Throughput Thermal Imagery. After the initial framework definition and supervision of the customer’s first data points, Pablo worked autonomously by only sharing the metadata information. The farmer-subcontract vegetation was mainly used for biotic and abiotic traits. Over four years, the experimental device evolved with the increasing technological access in the farm. Eventually, Pablo was able to fix several issues and improve the overall quality of the dataset. This particular case study suggests a new participatory phenotyping model and a potential collaboration plan for applications in traditional agriculture. However, the gender/Caucasian white-Latina-serving trend, in the context of this study, was not considered a limitation of technology-specific solutions based solely on a nonstationary platform’s user interactions. The different amounts of data in the polar winter and summer months suggest others could benefit from this dataset characteristic.

4. Best Practices for Engaging and Managing Remote Biology Experts

Involving academics outside the company to advance scientific research isn’t new, but the multitude of permutations of ways to make it work can make it confusing. Here I share principles and best practices from finding and recruiting the academics to managing the collaboration, shoulder tapping the most appropriate, and getting them to work. The primary goal is to get the right tools, chemicals, and assays done by the best academic likely to have the know-how to get further experiments onto the same successful path enabling them to trickle back through analysis and interpretation. As in-house experiments run out of steam, external connections re-supply the pipeline.

Although it is fun to generate new ways to collaborate, the standards for a “good problem” that DD scientists apply inside the company helped to generate best practices for academic external connections across different functional groups broadly labeled as “Biology”. The best practices shared here might shave a year off the time required to peaks the top seed. You won’t be at the edge of your seat waiting for your puck promenade to score but having fulfilled company objectives will feel just as satisfying. Adhering to these principles and procedures should lead to better outcomes and stronger relationships. It’s difficult to both win free labor and be regarded as a good client. Both aspects should be familiar as we have relationships on both ends. But like the current environment at least one of two of the main function groups have changed significantly in the last 10 years. That is now called Biology and is broken into three sections.

5. Future Trends and Opportunities in Remote Biology Expertise

Given the exciting developments and previous research in this field, we suspect that remote biology will gain traction, especially as it becomes easier for less-skilled scientists to use these workflows. Several potential trends and opportunities seem likely in the future.

Increased use of the remote biology expertise of broader communities. New models for sharing remote biology capabilities and support seem likely to emerge. The internet has made it easier to maintain virtual support communities around the world that can share the cost and effort of documenting and developing expertise. Individuals who have a particular interest could curate materials and hold Wikipedia-type roles, maintaining a community encyclopedic knowledge about both best practices and procedures and rapidly changing areas. Unskilled labor pools can be effectively harnessed at both a local community level (e.g., commercial/policymaker interest in protected regions) and across wider community levels (e.g., public scientific interest in exotic flora and fauna wherever they occur). Commercial research could also become increasingly interested in harvesting these widely-distributed and unique local expertise or unique experiments.