Eli Lilly Harnesses Signals Notebook
Elevate Collaboration and Streamline Compliance
Introduction
At a recent Revvity Signals Connect+ event, Eli Lilly's Douglas Stack and Alycia Hargraves unveiled groundbreaking ways the pharmaceutical company has advanced data management, streamlined compliance, and elevated collaboration. Joined by Colin Fyffe from Revvity Signals, the session explored cutting-edge integrations and practical insights shaping the future of pharmaceutical research workflows.
Presentors
- Douglas Stack, Director R&D IT, Eli Lilly: Signals Notebook Integrations
- Alycia Hargraves, Senior IT Manager, Eli Lilly: GxP Integration Considerations
- Colin Fyffe, Product Manager Integrations and Interfaces, Revvity Signals: Fundamentals of External Actions & APIs
The Signals Connect+ series offer compelling opportunities to learn about how Signals Notebook can transform research productivity. Hosted by Revvity Signals, the events bring together scientists, research informatics professional s, and business leaders eager to explore how modern digital tools are reshaping pharmaceutical research workflows.
A recent event, focused on key themes such as API fundamentals, GxP-compliant workflows, and real-world examples from Eli Lilly, a global pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative treatments for diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and many others.
Expanding the boundaries of research platforms
Opening the event, Colin Fyffe, Product Manager Integrations and Interfaces, Revvity Signals, emphasized Signals Notebook’s ability to adapt to diverse research needs, from automating workflows to integrating with external systems, using APIs as its cornerstone.
“APIs are not just tools but building blocks that empower users to create tailored solutions,” Colin explained. “Whether it’s triggering notifications for completed experiments or enabling data sharing, these integrations are designed to be intuitive and powerful.”
Colin detailed several key components, including REST APIs, external actions, and external notifications. REST APIs enable users to replicate nearly every action performed in the Signals Notebook interface programmatically. External actions enable custom workflows, such as automating sample registration or initiating data transfers, while external notifications keep users informed about critical events like experiment closures. By employing versioned APIs, Revvity Signals ensures that updates to Signals Notebook do not disrupt existing integrations.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and expand our integration capabilities, always keeping the user experience at the forefront,” Colin said.
Eli Lilly reveals real-world applications
Next, Douglas Stack, Director R&D IT, Eli Lilly, described how external actions and APIs have streamlined molecule registration, and how Signals Notebook has been integrated into its operations to address specific challenges and enhance productivity.
“Our integration pulls data directly from Signals Notebook into our proprietary database, reducing the risk of errors and saving valuable time,” Douglas explained, and walked through the workflow, showing how researchers select an action within Signals Notebook to initiate the process, which automatically transfers the relevant data to Eli Lilly’s registration system.
Douglas also highlighted the importance of customization. For example, researchers can manually approve updates to ensure data accuracy and maintain control over sensitive information, commenting: “It’s about finding the right balance between automation and user oversight.”
In addition to molecule registration, Douglas discussed how dashboards built using Power BI and KNIME are helping Eli Lilly track compliance and productivity. These tools consolidate data from multiple sources, offering real-time insights into unsigned experiments, unedited data, and user activity. “By visualizing this information, we can identify patterns, address gaps, and ensure our teams are operating efficiently,” Douglas said.
Navigating GxP compliance challenges
Eli Lilly’s Senior IT Manager Alycia Hargraves expanded on the complexities of managing integrations in GxP-validated environments, a critical consideration for regulated industries like pharmaceuticals.
Alycia explained how Eli Lilly uses a phased approach to manage integration schedules, aligning them with Signals Notebook’s release cycles, and remarked: “We operate on deferred and post-deferred release schedules. This allows us to focus on testing and validation during major updates while addressing business-specific needs like custom configurations and integrations in between cycles.”
In addition, Alycia also highlighted the importance of collaboration with external teams: “Establishing clear roles and responsibilities is essential. For every integration, we start with a detailed understanding of how the data will be used, where it will be stored, and what support structures are needed.”
Turning to data security, Alycia emphasized the need for least-privilege access, which ensures that external teams only have the permissions they need to perform their tasks, and said, “By defining roles carefully and auditing API usage regularly, we protect the integrity of our research data.”
Alycia concluded by stressing the value of regular audits and testing. “Auditing isn’t just about catching issues—it’s about ensuring that every integration continues to meet its intended purpose while aligning with compliance standards.”
Transforming research efficiency and collaboration
Eli Lilly insightfully demonstrated how Signals Notebook is helping the company achieve greater efficiency and collaboration by enabling shared standards, easy communications, automated workflows and enhanced data management.
Quote from Douglas Stack, Director R&D IT
The success of these integrations lies in their ability to make complex workflows intuitive and scalable. This allows us to focus on advancing our research and delivering meaningful outcomes.
The Signals Connect+ series showcases both the technical versatility of Signals Notebook and the tangible benefits it delivers, helping to streamline operations and drive innovation.
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