People
Keren Gueta Milshtein Research and Development Manager
Overall Goal
Preventing the information loss associated with paper lab notebooks and organizing research data.
Approach
Investing in a uniform and searchable data management solution from Labguru.
Results
- Labguru records every stage of an experiment in real-time, preventing data loss and saving 20% of the company’s working hours that would otherwise be spent manually recording data, organizing records and managing inventory.
- Labguru’s unique signing and witnessing feature and full audit trail ensure compliance with both GLP guidelines for pharmaceutical research and the regulations for companies working with cannabis.
- All protocols and experiments are on Labguru, which is used to create reproducible templates and ensure a consistent format for data-keeping.
Keren Gueta Milshtein
Research and Development Manager
MyPlant Bio, a subsidiary of CannaSoul Analytics, is a multidisciplinary company dedicated to discovering therapeutic applications for cannabis. Its hardworking researchers have developed a library of cell-based models for a variety of diseases, and these models are used to screen the effects of cannabis extracts. When a promising extract is identified, advanced chemical tools are employed to define its chemical composition, generating insights for further research. MyPlant Bio’s groundbreaking work has revealed that differences in cannabinoid composition result in the different cannabis strains’ unique medicinal properties. One cannabis strain may, for example, kill colon cancer cells, but have no effect on prostate cancer cells, while a second strain can have the opposite effect. This underscores the need for a deeper understanding of cannabinoids and their therapeutic potential.
We interviewed Keren Gueta Milshtein, the experienced Research and Development Manager at MyPlant Bio.
Choosing Labguru
MyPlant Bio has been using Labguru since day one. To prevent the information loss associated with paper lab notebooks and organize their data in a uniform and searchable manner, its scientists researched many lab management systems. On the one hand, they wanted a flexible, customizable system that would be adaptable to diverse experiments, but on the other hand, they didn’t want to build their organization system and settings from scratch. Labguru was chosen because it is both well-structured and flexible enough to allow for complex and dynamic research. The Labguru interface stood out because it was obviously created by people who understand biology – it is intuitive and accurate, and enables the addition of fields and reagents and customized form creation. Moreover, the Labguru product comes with full support and the ability to back up data as often as many times as necessary.
Organization and Tracking
All of MyPlant Bio’s protocols and experiments are on Labguru, where researchers use the form element to create reproducible templates for experiments. The company purposefully makes some fields mandatory to ensure a consistent format for data-keeping, resulting in easily searchable reagents, cell stocks, equipment, and more. Labguru’s comprehensive database is used to securely record all cell line properties, such as origin, relationships, experiments, receptor profile, and known inducers and inhibitors. And stocks are tracked on Labguru to save money on duplicate orders and prevent experiment delays. This includes information regarding reagent expiration, usage, shopping lists, locations, and more.
Research under COVID-19 restrictions
A relatively new company, MyPlant Bio has been operating under COVID-19 restrictions for most of its existence. But while many other companies have been forced to pause their research, MyPlant Bio has used Labguru to push forward. Labguru’s “shared experiment” feature facilitates work in small teams by allowing teams to update each other on their actions and findings. Labroom, Labguru’s video call feature, and the Labguru chat are leveraged to improve cross-company communication. And administrators regularly use Labguru to keep track of everything, create reports, and assign tasks.
All in all, Labguru saves us about 20% of our working hours.
Exceptional support
MyPlant Bio scientists are extremely satisfied with Labguru’s support, describing it as incredible. They even say that the Labguru support team – Ilya, Zohar, and Meirav – are considered members of the MyPlant Bio family!
ROI from Labguru
MyPlant Bio complies with both GLP guidelines for pharmaceutical research and the regulations for companies working with cannabis by using Labguru’s unique signing and witnessing feature, which locks experiment editing after final approval by predetermined parties. Labguru’s full audit trail also guarantees that every action that takes place in the system is recorded, as required. To prevent data loss, MyPlant Bio scientists use Labguru to ensure that every stage of an experiment is recorded in real-time. Many companies employ an entire team dedicated to investigating errors in batches, but MyPlant Bio uses Labguru’s easily searchable history to retrieve data on batches and experiments. This also saves the time that would be spent manually recording data, organizing records and managing inventory. In fact, senior researchers at MyPlant Bio estimate that Labguru saves the company about 20% of its working hours.