Joram Using Ascenscia in a Fume Hood
About Joram
This month's edition, created in partnership with our partner eLabNext, features Joram Mooiweer.
Joram is a doctoral candidate at the University Medical Centre Groningen in the Netherlands. Joram began his studies as a laboratory technician before earning an MSc in Medical and Pharmaceutical Drug Innovation. He chose to seek funding for his own PhD research proposal on the malfunctioning of the intestinal mucosal barrier, with the goal of investigating intestinal disorders. Joram works with 3D cultures and organoids, and his long-term goal is to create patient-specific intestinal in-vitro models that include entire microbiomes, immune cells, and supportive tissues. Ultimately, his goal is to make in-vitro disease modeling more accurate and personalized drug testing more efficient.
The challenges of the lab
Joram stresses that scientific labs have many opportunities to improve efficiency and automate procedures, especially when it comes to inventory management and onerous administrative procedures. As a result, he is constantly looking for new tools that will help him boost his efficiency and quality of research. He is utilizing eLabNext as an ELN, which is an excellent tool for tracking lab work administration. It provides the necessary infrastructure to keep track of all your daily tasks, sample management, and protocol storage.
However, Joram always felt the need to improve the efficiency of transferring the data from the bench to his eLabJournal. This constant need drove him to explore new tools and seek a solution to the daily documentation challenges that hindered his progress. One day when he was exploring eLabNext's Marketplace, Joram felt that he finally found the best add-on solution that added a new dimension to his eLabJournal: Ascenscia voice assistant.
The dynamic nature of Joram's work requires constant assay development and troubleshooting in conjunction with highly time-sensitive protocols. He has to document each deviation on the spot in order to transfer it later to his eLabJournal. He described his challenge to us, saying: “Remembering all these small details and writing them down afterward is a nightmare”. Joram was drawn to Ascenscia Voice Assistant because it solved his challenge by capturing instant hands-free notes by voice.
Working with voice
With Ascenscia, Joram captures every detail while remaining focused on his workflow. In his own words: ''With Ascenscia, I can take instant voice notes directly into my eLabJournal". The seamless integration of Ascenscia Voice Assistant with eLabJournal is a game changer for Joram’s daily work. He explains: "I begin my day by heading to the lab and checking on my cells; I can rapidly voice my notes to Ascenscia, knowing that everything will be transferred into my eLabJournal. I can go catch my meetings afterward without worrying about transferring my notes or bothering to take my laptop around with me”. This helps Joram save time on manual documentation and spares him multiple hours a week to do other tasks.
Before using Ascenscia:
Joram struggled with interrupted workflows, switching between taking quick notes and conducting his experiments. He used to spend time on manual documentation into his ELN and remembering experimental deviations.
While using Ascenscia:
Through simple hands-free voice commands, Joram can capture instant deviations directly into his ELN and follow his experimental workflow precisely.
Future thoughts
As we wrapped up our conversation, Joram shared his vision on the lab of the future and the role of voice technology in the lab. He envisions a world where administrative hassles are automated.
"I hope in the future all administrative hassles that come with lab work will be taken out of our hands," Joram expressed. "Writing your lab journal will be done by speaking, and protocols will automatically adapt to changes. Ascenscia will keep track of generated samples in real-time, and automated alerts will ensure we never run out of crucial reagents."
In collaboration with eLabNext, we're excited to witness how Ascenscia's voice assistant technology is revolutionizing the way scientists like Joram Mooiweer interact with electronic lab notebooks, streamlining data input, and enhancing overall lab efficiency in the pursuit of groundbreaking discoveries.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories as we continue to celebrate the innovators shaping the future of scientific research!
About Scientist of the Month
In this series, we shine a spotlight on outstanding scientists embracing technology to advance scientific research. Each month, we feature a scientist collaborating with Ascenscia, sharing their work, insights, and vision. These scientists do not only contribute to their fields, but also utilize innovative digital tools to revolutionize scientific practices. Our aim is to celebrate the Scientists of The Future by sharing their stories, addressing challenges, and showcasing their achievements with our technology.
