Webinar Report: The "science of science" - using meta-research to make research more transparent and reproducible

Aalok Varma is a member of the ECAG and formerly an eLife Community Ambassador, where he contributed to a meta-research project assessing the reporting quality and accessibility of images in published research articles, and worked on innovations to improve readability of scientific literature. In his research, he uses zebrafish as a model system to study the development and function of the cerebellum, with a particular focus on Purkinje neuron physiology.

Tracey Weissgerber is a meta-researcher at the BIH QUEST Center for Responsible Research (Berlin Institute of Health at Charité). Her research focuses on improving data visualization, transparency, rigor and reproducibility in scientific publications and has contributed to policy changes in many journals. Her team also develops automated screening tools to detect common problems in preprints and published papers.

Tracey provided a brief overview of meta-research, or the science of science, and explored ways that researchers can use meta-research to make their own research more transparent, rigorous and reproducible.

Iuliia Ferling is a Research Fellow in the Hospital for Sick Children Program for Cell Biology, Toronto, Canada. Currently, her research is focused on the molecular mechanisms of phagocytosis and macropinocytosis. She earned her PhD in Microbiology from the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Iuliia was formerly an eLife Community Ambassador, where she worked on a study into reporting standards for images.

Iuliia shared her experiences and lessons learned as a member of the eLife Community Ambassadors Meta-research Team. This global team of early career researchers learned about meta-research by working together to design, conduct and publish a meta-research study.

Kleber Neves is part of the coordinating team of the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative. He has a PhD in Neurosciences and a BSc in biomedical sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His neuroscience research has focused on brain evolution and complex networks. Since 2018, he has worked on the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative and on the No-Budget Science Hack Week, as well as on multiple metascience projects on issues relating to reproducibility, preprints and translational research.

Kleber explored how scientists can make it easier for others to reproduce their work, using insights gained from his research with the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative.