The National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s 2016 Rigor & Reproducibility criteria require a new attachment to the updated SF424 form (soon to be FORMS-D). This document, called "Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources," asks researchers to detail plans for authenticating resources that are integral to the proposed research -- resources that may differ from lab to lab (or over time), or have qualities that might influence results. Those resources include (but are not limited to) cell lines, specialty chemicals, reagents, antibodies, or other biologics.

According to NIH instructions, the document should be brief --

a page or less -- and should be limited to an investigator's plans to authenticate during the course of the project (not the actual results or data of resources already authenticated). Examples include plans to use flow cytometry or immunohistochemistry to identify primary cell lines, or using western blot analysis for antibody specificity.

Study section members will be asked to review this document, but at this point it will not affect impact scores. They may follow up with questions if more information is needed on meritorious proposals.

The challenge, NIH has acknowledged, is that there is a lack of standards and best practices for authenticating some of the relevant resources. It is a hope that this push toward transparency and detailed reporting of practices will build a consensus in the research community around best practices for authenticating critical scientific resources.