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Access Policy

Acceptance Criteria for Projects:

1) Is the experimental design robust and will it answer the biological question?

2) Does it meet the scientific goals of the platform (priority will be given to diseases of the gut, heart and brain but all translational medicine projects will be considered if we have capacity).

3) Does the Platform have the necessary expertise to conduct the project.

4) Is the time taken to conduct the project reasonable for the anticipated outcome (e.g. If a brand new method needs to be developed, is the project large enough to justify this or is the method likely to be reutilised on other projects in the future).

Additional Points

  • We try very hard to accommodate as many metabolomics projects as we can.
  • Projects will be assessed in the first instance by the Platform Leader or a nominated representative
  • Projects will be assessed only on the merit of the project and the available resources to undertake it
  • Projects will normally be done in the order in which we receive samples but there are instances where this rule cannot be followed e.g. Some samples may require in the experimental design that they are analysed very quickly after collection or a project has a strict time deadline on it for example
  • Strict timelines on projects should be communicated to us very early on. We take no responsibility for not meeting deadlines we were unaware of until a couple of weeks before they are to be met. Metabolomics projects typically take months to properly analyse and the Platform users should not assume that we are able to meet their deadlines without specifically discussing with us beforehand.
  • Projects can be rejected because the instrument or staff required is already booked. This may lead to instances where one project is rejected because we do not have capacity, while another project that uses a different instrument will be accepted at the same time. If in doubt, please ask about individual cases. We cannot discuss other groups‘ projects with you for confidentiality reasons.
  • For operational reasons, estimated time to project completion are always estimates. They can be heavily affected by instrument down time and staff availability. We do our best to accurately estimate but sometimes we get it wrong. Please keep communicating with us if you have an important project deadline.
  • The principle investigator(s) for a project is responsible for ensuring that the ethical approval is in place for any metabolomics project prior to the work beginning.

In case of dispute:

  • Disagreement about project decisions should, in the first instance, be directed towards the platform leader to see if a solution or understanding can be found.
  • If the project leader is not satisfied, they can approach the Metabolomics committee for a reassessment. If they wish to do this, the Metabolomics Platform Leader will call an extraordinary committee meeting and both the PI of the intended project and the platform leader will put their arguments forward as to whether the project should be accepted or not. The committee will reach a decision and the Platform agrees to abide by it to the best of their ability.
  • We reserve the right to refuse projects where individuals associated with the project are perceived to be abusing or bullying members of Platform staff.

Projects can also be refused where the Platform‘s role in former projects with that group was not properly acknowledged in any publications resulting from that project or where the conditions agreed upon in the experimental design have not been met e.g. Insufficient number of samples provided, poorly labelled or later than initially agreed upon

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