Case studies on Open Science in the context of ERC projects - Set 2

This document presents the second of five sets of case studies that have been produced in the framework of the ‘Study on open access to publications and research data management and sharing within ERC projects’. This study has been procured by the ERC Executive Agency under contract number ERCEA/A1/2016/06. 

The following three case studies are included in this set:

• Harnessing Proto-Enzymes for Novel Catalytic Functions (CompEnzymeEvolution)

Lynn Kamerlin, a Professor at Uppsala University and the lead of the project CompEnzymeEvolution applies computational methodologies to study protein evolution and to design new catalytic functions. In this context, Professor Kamerlin highlights some of the benefits and challenges that her team has encountered when applying open science practices in their research environment, particularly related to managing research data and the costs of open access publishing.

• Dynamics of Local Transcriptomes and Proteomes in Neurons (Neuronal Dynamics)

When Professor Erin Schuman received an ERC Advanced grant for her project Neuronal Dynamics, there were no formal requirements for PIs to publish articles in open access or share their research data openly. Still, most of the publications derived from the project have been published in open access and research data has been deposited in publicly accessible databases. Professor Schuman sees clear benefits that publishing in open access and opening research data could bring to science.

• Neural circuits underlying complex brain function across animals - from conserved core concepts to specializations defining a species’ identity (BrainInBrain)

The small field of insect neurophysiology has until now lacked a repository of openly shared data to help researchers collaborate on cross-species analysis of specific brain regions. But there is significant potential for such a repository to yield fresh understanding of decision-making, intentionality and navigation. Associate Professor Stanley Heinze, of Lund University, leads the BrainInBrain project, an ERC Starting Grant exploring how a region known as the central complex helps insects know their direction. Heinze explains the key role the Insect Brain Database plays in sharing and visualising images produced from the research. He describes how this resource helps researchers find and share the relevant knowledge to aid discovery, and his strategies to address the challenge of sustaining the resource for the longer term.