OpenBIO is an open source platform for life science research collaboration. It aims to increase the speed of research, break down barriers, and improve quality by enabling immediate access to reliable data, transparency over ongoing projects before publication, and collaboration within a large community. The platform exceeds competitors by allowing open access for all, supporting information to publications like lab protocols and raw data, and providing sophisticated collaboration tools. A functional prototype demonstrates key features like project overviews and pages for collaboration. The technology stack including Vue.js, Electron, Express, and Docker enables rapid development. The roadmap includes adding tools for content creation, data visualization, citation management, and a subscription model to further the vision of an open collaboration platform.

1. openBIO
Read Deck
Tech Challenge – July 2019
Tatjana Festl, Niklas Hansen, Friedrich Staufenbiel

2. 09.07.19 openBIO 2
Where Life Science meets Open Source…
Humanity has solved many challenges in recent
years, but with multi-resistance on the rise, it is
time to step up the efforts and join forces to solve
pressing issues.
We believe that an open source solution has the
highest potential to increase the speed, break down
the barriers to and improve the quality of Life
Science research.
As an open source platform, openBIO offers an
adequate solution to tackling issues like the
antibiotics crisis and enables active participation
and collaboration within the community.
Why do we need an open
source research and
collaboration platform in the
field of Life Sciences?

3. 09.07.19 openBIO 3
openBIO targets Contributors to Life Science Research
Transparency over ongoing projects
with visibility before final publication
Open access for everyone
without restrictions or fees
Sophisticated collaboration tools
enabling forking of and commiting to projects
Supporting info to publications
including lab protocols and raw data
Customer needs
• Academics and non-academics
e.g. Students, Biohackers
• Multidisciplinary backgrounds
e.g. Biology, Data Science
• Located worldwide
Target customers
Contributors to Life
Science Research

4. 09.07.19 openBIO 4
openBIO exceeds Competitors’ Offerings
Open access
for everyone
Supporting info to
publications
Transparency over
ongoing projects
Sophisticated
collaboration tools
Total
PubMed
ResearchGate
Weak fit with
customer need
Strong fit with
customer need
Open source platform for Life
Science research
Social networking site for
researchers and scientists
Search engine for Life Science
abstracts and references
Visible and usable for
everyone
Lab protocols, raw
data, etc.
Project forking and
direct commits possible
Restricted to academic
researchers
Visible and usable for
everyone
Some raw data /
visualisations
Limited to publications
Visibility only after
publications
Possibility to see
current projects
Possibility to see
current projects
Option to contact peers
regarding projects
No integrated
collaboration tools
Customer needs
openBIO

5. 09.07.19 openBIO 5
openBIO is characterized by three Core Features
3. Collaboration
in an open, active and inter-disciplinary
manner within a large community
1.Immediate access
to reliable data / documentation
without paywalls or user restrictions
2. Transparency
over ongoing research projects and
topics in advance of publications
openBIO
THE platform solution for
open source research in
the field of Life Sciences

6. 09.07.19 openBIO 6
The Functional Prototype shows Key Functionalities
Dashboard Overview Project Page
1
2
1
2
Overview of own and starred project
Project feed with updates and information
about ongoing / starred projects
Individual profile for each contributor
3
3
Tab-based project structure with
customisable components
4
Option to clone projects to enable
collaboration
5
4
5

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The openBIO Architecture is highly scalable
Web Frontend Desktop
Web
Backend Storage & Version Control
Backend
openBIO uses a highly scalable containerised architecture in order
to ensure high performance from the start

8. 09.07.19 openBIO 8
The Technology Stack enables rapid prototyping
Frontend
The frontend enables less tech-
savvy users to interact with the
platform in an intuitive way.
Backend
Version Control &
Storage Container
Vue.js is the key
component in our
frontend
Electron will be our
framework of choice for
the desktop app
The backend ties together the
frontend and version control
container to provide the
required functionality.
Express allows for very quick
backend REST API prototyping,
which made it the ideal choice
for openBIO
The version control & storage
backend uses git and Python
Flask to manage user
repositories, where files are
stored and versions are kept
track of.
The usage of Docker allows the
application to scale horizontally
as well as vertically.

9. 09.07.19 openBIO 9
Roadmap ahead on the the way to an MVP
+1m +6m +12m
Latex /
Markdown
• Content creation with
online Latex / Markdown
editor
• Easy and effective
collaboration for non-
tech-savvy contributors
Data
Visualisation
• Embedded tools for
analysing and visualising
raw data components
• Support for different
data formats and chart
types
Citation
Management
• Easy to use referencing
tools
• Copyright protection
even with open source
• Easy search mechanism
for similar projects
Subscription
Model
• Premium offer for paying
customers
• Designated pages for
organisations
• Private areas within
ongoing project
+4m
m = months after launch of pilot

10. 09.07.19 openBIO 10
Team openBIO ready to take on the Challenge
Friedrich
Staufenbiel
Niklas
Hansen
Tatjana
Festl
Diverse backgrounds
Committed to open source
Young and dynamic
Hungry for challenges