New reporting standard for high-containment pathogen research published in Nature Methods
A new international reporting framework aims to improve transparency and reproducibility in experiments with high-risk pathogens. Researchers from Medical University of Graz, a partner in BBMRI.at, contributed to the development of the proposed MIHCLE standard. The university hosts a biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory, providing expertise in safe pathogen research and biobanking that informed the development of these guidelines.
A new comment article in Nature Methods proposes an international reporting standard to improve transparency and reproducibility in research with high-risk pathogens. The paper, “A Minimum Information about a High Containment Laboratory Experiment (MIHCLE) reporting standard”, includes co-authors from Medical University of Graz (BBMRI.at SEAB member and former BBMRI.at Coordinator) as co-author.
The authors introduce MIHCLE, a framework designed to standardize how experiments conducted in high-containment laboratories are documented in scientific publications. The proposed standard aims to ensure that studies involving dangerous pathogens are reported in a consistent, transparent and responsible way while still respecting national security requirements. Although originally conceived for maximum-containment BSL-4 laboratories, the framework is also applicable to BSL-3 facilities, which are widely used for research on pathogens that pose serious health risks.
MIHCLE defines ten key information categories that should accompany publications from high-containment laboratories. These include details on the biological agents studied, the laboratory environment, biosafety and biosecurity procedures, personnel training, risk assessments, incident reporting and data-sharing practices. By harmonizing reporting requirements, the framework aims to strengthen biosafety, reproducibility and international trust in research on epidemic- and pandemic-prone pathogens.
At the Medical University of Graz expertise in biosafety and pathogen research is supported by a biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory, enabling the safe study of high-risk infectious agents. The university also contributes extensive experience in biobanking and biomedical research infrastructures, serving as the national coordinator of BBMRI.at. This combination of advanced infrastructure, regulatory expertise and standardized data practices supports high-quality, responsible biomedical research addressing global health threats.
“We envision the broad adoption of a MIHCLE standard as a critical step toward ensuring fuller accountability of the vital but intrinsically risky work involving high-consequence pathogens.” – Ewbank et al., Nature Methods (2025)