Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship

Abstract The field of microbiome research continues to grow at a rapid pace, with multi-omics approaches becoming widely used to interrogate diverse microbiome samples. However, due to lagging awareness and implementation of standards and data stewardship, many datasets are produced that are not com...

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Main Authors: Julia M. Kelliher, Francisca E. Rodriguez, Leah Y. D. Johnson, Simon Roux, Montana Smith, Alicia Clum, Wendi Lynch, Candace Hope Bias, Sarai S. Finks, Ishi Keenum, E. Anders Kiledal, Heng-An Lin, Reid Longley, Ryan McDonald, Thomas M. Pitot, Josué Rodríguez-Ramos, Jiaxian Shen, Daniel D. Sprockett, Joel Swift, Archana Yadav, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
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Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89991-1
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author Julia M. Kelliher
Francisca E. Rodriguez
Leah Y. D. Johnson
Simon Roux
Montana Smith
Alicia Clum
Wendi Lynch
Candace Hope Bias
Sarai S. Finks
Ishi Keenum
E. Anders Kiledal
Heng-An Lin
Reid Longley
Ryan McDonald
Thomas M. Pitot
Josué Rodríguez-Ramos
Jiaxian Shen
Daniel D. Sprockett
Joel Swift
Archana Yadav
Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
author_facet Julia M. Kelliher
Francisca E. Rodriguez
Leah Y. D. Johnson
Simon Roux
Montana Smith
Alicia Clum
Wendi Lynch
Candace Hope Bias
Sarai S. Finks
Ishi Keenum
E. Anders Kiledal
Heng-An Lin
Reid Longley
Ryan McDonald
Thomas M. Pitot
Josué Rodríguez-Ramos
Jiaxian Shen
Daniel D. Sprockett
Joel Swift
Archana Yadav
Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
author_sort Julia M. Kelliher
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The field of microbiome research continues to grow at a rapid pace, with multi-omics approaches becoming widely used to interrogate diverse microbiome samples. However, due to lagging awareness and implementation of standards and data stewardship, many datasets are produced that are not comparable, reproducible, or reusable. In 2021, the National Microbiome Data Collaborative launched its Ambassador Program, which utilizes a community-learning model to annually train a cohort of early-career researchers in microbiome data stewardship best practices. These Ambassadors then host workshops and other events to communicate these themes to their respective microbiome research communities. To quantify the impact of this learning model for promoting awareness of and experience with microbiome data, we conducted a survey of workshop participants from events hosted by the 2023 Ambassador cohort. The 2023 cohort of 13 National Microbiome Data Collaborative Ambassadors collectively hosted 21 events, reaching over 550 researchers. The Ambassadors distributed an anonymous post-workshop survey to their event participants to quantify the effectiveness of the training materials, the workshop format, and the thematic content. From the 21 events, survey results were successfully collected for 15 of those events from a total of 122 researchers. Overall, 122 participants working with a range of microbiome types and from a variety of institutions responded to the survey and reported overwhelmingly positive experiences with the workshop content and materials, with 98% of respondents reporting that they gained knowledge from the event. Participants across the events also reported an increase in their post-workshop understanding of metadata standards, principles for microbiome data management and reporting, and the importance of standardization in microbiome data processing. Participants also expressed a willingness to apply what they learned about microbiome data stewardship to their own research. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of hands-on workshops and community-learning for communicating data stewardship best practices to microbiome researchers. The lessons learned and details about the implementation of this cohort-based learning model contained herein are intended to assist other groups in their efforts to create or improve similar learning strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-0c9da23c3dde473d8e92540969587e622025-08-20T03:41:47ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-89991-1Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardshipJulia M. Kelliher0Francisca E. Rodriguez1Leah Y. D. Johnson2Simon Roux3Montana Smith4Alicia Clum5Wendi Lynch6Candace Hope Bias7Sarai S. Finks8Ishi Keenum9E. Anders Kiledal10Heng-An Lin11Reid Longley12Ryan McDonald13Thomas M. Pitot14Josué Rodríguez-Ramos15Jiaxian Shen16Daniel D. Sprockett17Joel Swift18Archana Yadav19Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh20Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National LaboratoryBioscience Division, Los Alamos National LaboratoryBioscience Division, Los Alamos National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryPacific Northwest National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDepartment of Biology, The Pennsylvania State UniversityMichigan Technological UniversityDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of MichiganTexas A&M UniversityBioscience Division, Los Alamos National LaboratoryU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDepartment of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics, Université LavalPacific Northwest National LaboratoryNorthwestern UniversityDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell UniversityKansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of KansasLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryAbstract The field of microbiome research continues to grow at a rapid pace, with multi-omics approaches becoming widely used to interrogate diverse microbiome samples. However, due to lagging awareness and implementation of standards and data stewardship, many datasets are produced that are not comparable, reproducible, or reusable. In 2021, the National Microbiome Data Collaborative launched its Ambassador Program, which utilizes a community-learning model to annually train a cohort of early-career researchers in microbiome data stewardship best practices. These Ambassadors then host workshops and other events to communicate these themes to their respective microbiome research communities. To quantify the impact of this learning model for promoting awareness of and experience with microbiome data, we conducted a survey of workshop participants from events hosted by the 2023 Ambassador cohort. The 2023 cohort of 13 National Microbiome Data Collaborative Ambassadors collectively hosted 21 events, reaching over 550 researchers. The Ambassadors distributed an anonymous post-workshop survey to their event participants to quantify the effectiveness of the training materials, the workshop format, and the thematic content. From the 21 events, survey results were successfully collected for 15 of those events from a total of 122 researchers. Overall, 122 participants working with a range of microbiome types and from a variety of institutions responded to the survey and reported overwhelmingly positive experiences with the workshop content and materials, with 98% of respondents reporting that they gained knowledge from the event. Participants across the events also reported an increase in their post-workshop understanding of metadata standards, principles for microbiome data management and reporting, and the importance of standardization in microbiome data processing. Participants also expressed a willingness to apply what they learned about microbiome data stewardship to their own research. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of hands-on workshops and community-learning for communicating data stewardship best practices to microbiome researchers. The lessons learned and details about the implementation of this cohort-based learning model contained herein are intended to assist other groups in their efforts to create or improve similar learning strategies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89991-1Community learningMicrobiomeStandardsOpen scienceFAIR dataRetrospective methodology
spellingShingle Julia M. Kelliher
Francisca E. Rodriguez
Leah Y. D. Johnson
Simon Roux
Montana Smith
Alicia Clum
Wendi Lynch
Candace Hope Bias
Sarai S. Finks
Ishi Keenum
E. Anders Kiledal
Heng-An Lin
Reid Longley
Ryan McDonald
Thomas M. Pitot
Josué Rodríguez-Ramos
Jiaxian Shen
Daniel D. Sprockett
Joel Swift
Archana Yadav
Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
Scientific Reports
Community learning
Microbiome
Standards
Open science
FAIR data
Retrospective methodology
title Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
title_full Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
title_fullStr Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
title_short Quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
title_sort quantifying the impact of workshops promoting microbiome data standards and data stewardship
topic Community learning
Microbiome
Standards
Open science
FAIR data
Retrospective methodology
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89991-1
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