Drug Discovery & Development and
Bioscience Technology magazines asked drug and life science researchers about current practices, trends, and research challenges in cell biology. Their answers and candid comments will be published here and in
Drug Discovery & Development magazine.
View other survey questions:
A Profile of Respondents
Why Do You Study Cells?
Technologies and Approaches Used to Study Cells
Microscopy Used to Study Cells
What are the top technical challenges related to cell biology research?
Drug Discovery & Development asked scientists to identify their top two challenges in cell biology research. The most popular answer: data. Gathering data, managing data, and analyzing data were all recurrent themes. Another major challenge: obtaining measurable and reproducible experimental results. Still, other researchers were frustrated by a lack of suitable instruments, assays, or reagents. Top challenges:
- Adequate staffing
- Assay development
- Availability of human cells/tissue
- Biomarker identification
- Consistency of results
- Cost
- Data analysis
- Finding good antibodies
- Gathering data
- Inconsistent quality of cells
- Keeping cells alive
- Labor-intensive processes
- Lack of suitable assays reagents
- Reproducibility of assays
- Unproductive research paths
- Small sample sizes
- Time
- Transfection
