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Oct. 17, 2024 | Science Story

Monitoring Microbes with Meaningful Metadata

How one researcher transformed their research practices to make their data FAIR

Dr. Buck Hanson is a microbial ecologist and Staff Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory where his work centers on understanding the roles of soil and root-associated microbiomes in biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem resilience. Buck believes that FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) microbiome data is essential for knowledge sharing and communication, which is increasingly important for understanding Earth’s microbiomes. He wants microbiome research today to inspire new tools and approaches for future challenges. Buck started as an NMDC Champion several years ago to be more engaged with the NMDC and its activities. He has since participated in several rounds of user research and is currently a 2024 NMDC Ambassador

Buck Hanson at the Valles Caldera National Preserve field site in New Mexico.

Buck was awarded an EMSL Exploratory Research award followed by a Large-Scale Research award for his work with desert grasses and their associated microbial communities. Through his experience with the NMDC as a Champion and Ambassador, and by consulting NMDC team member Montana Smith, Buck was able to improve the metadata he was collecting about these systems to create datasets that are much more FAIR. 

“When Buck first submitted metadata for his EMSL project, the information was sparse, had formatting errors, and was not FAIR; as in, someone trying to reference this metadata to understand the results wouldn’t have the full picture. After some guidance and info sessions and lessons learned from the NMDC, Buck’s metadata completely transformed! Now he provides extensive detail that is machine readable and actionable. Anyone interested in referencing his data will have a good understanding of the experiment and each sample.” -Montana Smith, PNNL, NMDC Submission Portal Product Owner

He transformed his metadata collection practices from sparse metadata spreadsheets to extensive, informative, and fully validated Submission Portal entries. Read more below about Buck’s experiences with the NMDC Submission Portal:

How did you approach metadata collection and deposition for your samples before you started working with the NMDC?

 The idea of metadata didn’t enter my mind during experimental planning, especially during field sampling. Certain metadata necessary for understanding microbial activities (e.g., chemical analyses of a sample) would be collected, but sometimes sampling involved just a plastic bag, a shovel, and a Sharpie and I didn’t think about the importance of metadata.

What types of samples do you work with and why is it important to collect standardized metadata for those samples?

 I work with environmental samples. My current focus is on understanding the bacterial and fungal populations associated with plant roots and how those communities impact plant resilience to climate stress. Sample collection is often organized with a very specific project goal and thinking outside of answering my myopic questions and how the data I generate can be used by others previously didn’t play a role in sample collection. Going into a study with a broader, long-term perspective of the potential reusability of the data I collect brings a more impactful feeling to the research. This of course can’t be realized without collecting standardized metadata, which will enable interoperability with other research around the world.

Hanson sampling rhizosphere soil from a Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program field site.

Can you describe your first encounters with the NMDC Submission Portal?

 My first exposure to the NMDC was through the Champions program, which exposed me to a community of researchers with a common aspiration to promote FAIR data practices. As a Champion, I participated in product testing. This was my first time engaging with the Submission Portal. I was a complete novice, clicking buttons, downloading metadata templates, asking a lot of questions. It was a fun experience interacting with the NMDC team, getting an inside look into product development and user testing, and I could only hope that my stubbornness does a tiny part to help lower the barrier to data accessibility.

How would you describe your feelings about the Submission Portal now?

 My feelings about the Submission Portal greatly improved once I discovered how helpful the “Help” features are. Like with any new skill there is a learning curve, however understanding how to navigate the portal with the assistance of the available tutorials and help bubbles, really brought that learning curve down.

Have you noticed any benefits to collecting more organized, standardized metadata in your research?

 Collecting standardized metadata has become an important aspect of how I plan and execute my research. As I mentioned earlier, collecting metadata helps connect my work with other researchers and studies both past and future. I am thinking more in that broader sense of making the data I collect more meaningful when it comes to its potential reuse as well as giving my data greater breadth when I can relate it to other previously collected data.

Hanson storing soil samples collected at the Sevilleta LTER field site.

 Why would you recommend the Submission Portal to other users?

 I absolutely do because I believe that a lot of the scientific questions asked by microbiome researchers aim to conscientiously leverage microbial processes to improve our ability to respond to and prepare for changes in ecosystem functions. There are big questions related to climate change, pollution, sustainable bioenergy, for example that one researcher or one country can’t answer alone, so making data FAIR is a critical step to advancing understanding of these issues.

How have your data management and metadata collection efforts changed after working with the NMDC? Will you continue these strategies in the future?

 I guess one of the biggest changes is knowing the different types of metadata that I should be collecting. Getting familiar with the NMDC metadata standard templates opened my eyes to what else I could be including in my experimental planning and execution that would give my data value to others, which not only helps promote my own work but that of future studies.

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