lab-iResearch Data Policies
Comprehensive guidelines for data collection, storage, and usage in the lab-i research project.
Data Collection Policy
Purpose: The lab-i project collects microscopy and experimental images to train machine learning models for automated laboratory image organization.
Scope: We accept images from various research domains including Drosophila studies, mouse research, insect biology, C. elegans, microbiology, microscopy, gel electrophoresis, petri dish cultures, and biochemical experiments.
Voluntary Participation: All data contributions are voluntary. Researchers may choose to contribute any amount of data that aligns with their research and ethical guidelines.
Data Quality: Contributed images should be of research quality, properly labeled, and free from identifiable patient information or sensitive personal data.
Data Storage & Security
Secure Infrastructure: All data is stored on Cloudflare R2, a secure, enterprise-grade object storage service with end-to-end encryption.
Access Controls: Only authorized research team members have access to the raw data. All access is logged and monitored regularly.
Backup & Redundancy: Data is automatically backed up across multiple geographic locations to prevent data loss.
Retention Policy: Data is retained for the duration of the research project and as required by scientific standards and funding agency requirements.
Data Usage & Sharing
Research Purpose: Collected data is used exclusively for training and validating machine learning models for automated image organization and classification.
Academic Use: Anonymized and aggregated results may be used in academic publications, conference presentations, and research papers.
No Commercial Use: Data will never be sold, licensed, or used for commercial purposes without explicit contributor consent.
Open Science: Processed datasets and trained models may be made available to the scientific community under appropriate open access licenses.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Anonymization: All contributed data is anonymized. Personal identifiers, institution names, and sensitive metadata are removed or masked.
No Patient Data: We do not accept any clinical or patient data. All images must be from pre-clinical or basic research settings.
Contributor Privacy: Contributor identities are kept confidential unless explicit permission is given for attribution.
Contributor Rights
Attribution: Contributors who wish to be credited will receive appropriate acknowledgment in publications and presentations.
Questions or Concerns?
If you have questions about our data policies or need clarification on any aspect of data contribution and usage, please contact our research team.
Policy Updates
These policies were last updated on January 1, 2026. We reserve the right to update these policies as needed to reflect changes in research practices, regulations, or project scope. Contributors will be notified of significant policy changes.