In the REDI-NET, the University of Notre Dame (UND) and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA) serve as two of the four Gold laboratories. Continuously engaging in the testing and iteration of established SOPs by Gold laboratories ensures the processes are streamlined to produce reliable and accurate outcomes. The integration of new sample types and equipment requires optimization of SOPs to ensure the steps are accurate and feasible in a given setting. With this in mind, Michele Adams (UND) worked with Emily McDermott and Cameron Osborne (UADA) to:
- Train on the current REDI-NET SOPs for testing of environmental and invertebrate samples
- Beta-test the newly developed REDI-NET SOPs for testing of vertebrate samples
- Beta-test the mobile and web applications to understand how field-collected samples and laboratory testing data are linked in the Data Portal
This training allowed partners to leverage their expertise and assess REDI-NET procedures to find room for potential optimization. Data entry using the REDI-NET mobile and web applications was facilitated by Bradley Sandberg, who explained how these digital tools and applications are used to ensure data entry, rigor, quality control, and access to data linking metagenomic results with confirmed microorganism outputs for each sample.
