The latest news on ABRF Events & Activities
October 31, 2022
  • President’s Message
  • ABRF Chapter Meetings: timely content and valuable connections
  • 2023 Annual Meeting: registration open
  • JBT Featured Article: Rigor, Reproducibility, and Transparency in Shared Research Resources: Follow-Up Survey and Recommendations for Improvements
  • Proteomics Cloud Computing Workshop Series – Nextflow – November 14-18
Message from the President 
Hello ABRFer’s.

Are you being paid fairly for the work you do? Many of our institutional cores have experienced extensive turnover in personnel and have been challenged with replacing their valuable team members. Frankly, many institutions have not yet adjusted their salary lines to keep up with the salary increases or market changes that have occurred since the pandemic. The ABRF is conducting a Salary and Compensation Survey to collect current information on salaries compensation on those who work in, or support, core facilities. Hopefully, most of you have already received a request to complete the survey and have begun or have completed it. For those who have not, these survey results will be extremely informative in driving the discussions on fair salary adjustments for core personnel and I encourage you to take the survey.
 
Anyone who works in or supports a core is welcome to take the survey! You DO NOT have to be an ABRF member or work in an academic or government institution in the United States to complete the survey. Please share the survey link with your colleagues. The survey deadline is Friday, November 11th
 
I hope everyone is enjoying the Fall colors!
 
All the best,
 
Kevin Knudtson
ABRF President

ABRF 2022 Regional Chapter Meetings Conclude on a Pair of High Notes
October was an exciting month for ABRF regional chapters in the Northeast and Midwest to once again meet in person to learn more about current developments in the science and technology in core facilities.
The 2022 NERLSCD Annual Meeting, October 12-14, hosted by the University of Rochester Medical Center, featured two and a half days of user meetings, targeted technology-specific workshops, and plenary talks on Creating a Shared Resource Culture Change, and SICS (Sorter Induced Cellular Stress). Meeting hosts John Ashton and Tim Bushnell, along with the meeting’s Organizing Committee presented an engaging and informative program supported by a wide range of corporate sponsors who shared the latest tools and systems to empower core facilities. Learn more about the 2022 program and plans for the 2023 NERLSCD meeting in Burlington, VT here.

The Midwest Association of Core Directors (MWACD) 2022 Annual Meeting, Better Together: Strengthening Communities of Practice and Science, October 17-18 in Columbus, Ohio, assembled core facilities from throughout the region. 

Following a day of informative tours of nearby Core facilities and sponsor-led workshops, the 2022 MWACD annual meeting highlighted the importance of communication, partnerships, and community. The program featured presentations on diverse topics including, Driving Research in a Community of CoresHarnessing Proinflammatory Metabolic Sensing Switch GPR84 on Macrophages for Cancer Immunotherapy, Emerging Technologies: the Interface between Physical and Biological Sciences, Implementing Spatial-omics in Core Facilities, and Spatial-omics algorithms and the future of spatial omics. For the complete meeting program, visit the MWACD website.
ABRF 2023 Annual Meeting: Registration Opens Tuesday, November 1st
Plan now to be a part of the ABRF 2023 Annual Meeting, May 7-10 in Boston, Massachusetts. The 2023 Annual Meeting Program team continues to work to create a valuable learning and networking experience for all ABRF members.

ABRF members can save by bundling 2023 annual meeting registration and 2023 membership.  Early registration rates are available through January 15, but don’t miss out on this opportunity to be a part of this special event.  
JBT Featured Article
Rigor, reproducibility, and transparency (RR&T) are essential components of all scientific pursuits. Shared research resources, also known as core facilities, are on the frontlines of ensuring robust RR&T practices. The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Committee on Core Rigor and Reproducibility conducted a follow-up survey 4 years after the initial 2017 survey to determine if core facilities have seen a positive impact of new RR&T initiatives (including guidance from the National Institutes of Health, new scientific journal requirements on transparency and data provenance, and educational tools from professional organizations). While there were fewer participants in the most recent survey, the respondents’ opinions on the role of core facilities and level of best practices adoption remained the same.
Overall, the respondents agreed that procedures should be implemented by core facilities to ensure scientific RR&T. They also indicated that there is a strong correlation between institutions that emphasize RR&T and core customers using this expertise in grant applications and publications. The survey also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on core operations and RR&T. The answers to these pandemic-related questions revealed that many of the strategies aimed at increasing efficiencies are also best practices related to RR&T, including the development of standard operating procedures, supply chain management, and cross training.
Given the consistent and compelling awareness of the importance of RR&T expressed by core directors in 2017 and 2021 contrasted with the lack of apparent improvements over this time period, the authors recommend an adoption of RR&T statements by all core laboratories. Adhering to the RR&T guidelines will result in more efficient training, better compliance, and improved experimental approaches empowering cores to become “rigor champions.”

Proteomics Cloud Computing Workshop Series – Nextflow – November 14-18
The final session of this valuable series of online tutorials about the use of cloud computing resources for MS-based proteomics will discuss Nextflow. Led by Yasset Perez-Riverol of EBI in Hinxton, UK, this session will provide instructions on how to use Nextflow to analyze MS data. Pre-recorded content will be available in advance for attendees to view and learn processes, followed by a live training session. Register here for this complimentary workshop.
If you have information for future ABRF Updates to share with your ABRF colleagues, please send your contributions to ABRF Updates to be included in an upcoming issue.