Last week, our team co-coordinated the course “Experimental Research Design & Responsible Research Practices,” organized within the Doctoral Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB) and the International Doctoral Program in Integrative Neurosciences (idpIN), under the EXCELScIOR educational portfolio at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra.
The course brought together around 18 PhD students from the BEB and idpIN programmes, along with lecturers and invited experts, for a dynamic programme combining hands-on learning, discussions, and open lectures. Several sessions were delivered by members of our project team, including John Ioannidis (Stanford University, ERA Chair holder), Elsa Henriques (co-coordinator), Tracey Weissgerber (team leader), Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar (PI), and team members Teresa Oliveira, Thomas Feliciani, and Priya Silverstein.
Designed to prepare students for the development of their PhD projects, the course introduced modern scientific methods and best practices in experimental design, covering in vitro, in vivo, and clinical research approaches. It also raised awareness of key issues such as the replication crisis, research integrity, and ethics, while providing practical training in biostatistics, data management, and data visualization. Through these activities, participants were encouraged to embrace open science principles and ensure the reproducibility of their research.
This initiative provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen essential research skills, promote responsible and ethical research practices, and lay a strong foundation for the students’ future work as scientists.
