Electronic lab notebooks (ELN)

Eligibility

eLabNext is available to HMS Quad-A labs and research cores. 

HMS Quad-A labs that would like to use eLabNext to support projects involving collaborators external to the HMS Quad should contact rchelp@hms.harvard.edu.

Ineligible

Research labs based in HMS-affiliated institutions are not eligible to set up eLabNext through HMS. Instead, contact your local research computing group for more information about how to set up an ELN.

Access

Users can sign in with their HMS account ID and password. 

Security and permissions

eLabNext uses industry-standard security protocols to protect sensitive information. Users can control permissions and manage data-sharing settings to ensure only authorized individuals can access their data. Automatic audit trails provide time-stamped evidence for IP investigations. 

eLabNext is supported for data security level 3 or below on the Harvard Data Classification Table.

Data portability

eLabNext projects, studies, and experiments can be exported and downloaded in a variety of non-proprietary formats, including PDF, HTML, XML, and JSON. 

• For more information, refer to the How to import and export projects, studies, and experiments KB article.

Timestamping and Versioning

eLabNext automatically timestamps every entry made in the platform including protocols, experiments, experiment sections, samples, files, and more. These timestamps cannot be altered, providing an immutable record of when each entry was made. eLabNext users can easily compare different versions of an experiment, experiment section, file, or protocol.  

• For more information, refer to the How to view unalterable timestamps, versioning and audit trail KB article.

Data referencing

eLabNext supports the indelibility of project documentation by providing the ability to store data, metadata, and analyseis indefinitely with an unalterable project history. 

• For more information, refer to the How to upload or reference data for project security KB article. 

Backups

HMS IT performs several different backup-related processes to ensure that data stored in the eLabNext platform is protected and secure in case of an issue or outage.  

• For more information, refer to the How projects are backed up and secured KB article. 

Appropriate access

eLabNext allows users, group administrators, and system administrators to easily share research documentation within the project/study/experiment hierarchy. By default, HMS IT creates a single group for each lab or core, with the PI or core director as the Group Owner and the lab manager as the Group Administrator. Both the Owner and Group Administrator will have read access to all data stored within the group.  

• For more information, refer to the How to ensure appropriate access to your project KB article.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To learn more about eLabNext frequently asked questions, review eLabNext FAQs. 

Key features

• ELN organization – eLabJournal has a hierarchical organizational structure: Groups > Projects > Studies > Experiments. This hierarchy can be used to organize work by research project or individual researcher.
• Recording lab work– eLabJournal allows users to document their research in using rich text, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, attached files, chemical drawings, and sample information. The platform includes a powerful text-based search engine that can be used to find specific records at the project, study, or experiment level. Data cannot be deleted after being saved to the journal. Audit trails and logs ensure that every change is logged. 
• Protocols and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – eLabProtocols allows users to document and share step-by-step protocols with protocol versioning. Protocols can be included within experiments and reference samples and supplies stored in eLabInventory.

Additional features

• Inventory support – eLabInventory enables users to create and configure their own sample types and to store information about storage locations. Samples can then be mapped to specific storage locations and linked to experiments or protocols when appropriate. The inventory module also enables labs to keep track of equipment and supplies and can notify lab managers when supplies are getting low. 
• Mobile devices – eLabNext includes a mobile app that augments the web platform. It lets users view protocols and experiments, take notes, upload images, and work with samples.  
• Additional tools – The platform includes an app called Marketplace that allows users to extend the functionality of the platform; these IT-approved apps include ChemAssist, which extends the functionality of the platform specifically for chemistry laboratories, and CloneAssist, which enables users to visualize DNA sequences and plasmids maps and apply various molecular cloning techniques.  
• Add-on app development - For researchers who want a high level of integration and customization, the vendor provides a robust API (Application Programming Interface) and SDK (Software Development Kit) that enables the development of other integrations and the automation of research workflows. 

The HMS IT ELN service is provided to Quad-A labs and cores and to individual Quad-based researchers with the approval of their PI. If you are interested in getting access to eLabNext, email rchelp@hms.harvard.edu. 

• For more information about training and onboarding services, refer to the Onboarding, training, and consulting KB article. 

HMS offers a number of support options for eLab Next. For more information, refer to the Get support for eLabNext or ELNs KB article to identify support paths for access, password reset, product support, and more.