The Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative received the Einstein Foundation Award 2025 in the Institutional Award category.
Based at the Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and coordinated by Prof. Dr. Olavo Amaral, the Initiative aims to enhance the reproducibility of Brazilian scientific experiments in the field of biomedical sciences. Reproducibility means that an experiment conducted in one laboratory can be replicated in another, following the same scientific protocols and producing the same results. The ability to replicate experiments and their results ensures the reliability of scientific research.
Since it was launched in 2018, following funding from the Instituto Serrapilheira in a 2017 call, the project has received contributions from 213 researchers across 56 laboratories and has already completed 143 replications of 56 published experiments. Among the experiments reproduced, replication rates ranged from 15% to 45%, figures that helped reveal the factors influencing replication success, such as protocol quality, laboratory infrastructure, and differences in team training.
This awareness of the factors that affect reproducibility has helped Brazilian scientists understand what needs to be done to publish clearer research with a higher likelihood of successful reproducibility. In this sense, the Brazilian project has contributed to identifying concrete ways for scientists to improve their practices, including the standardization of terminology, the refinement of protocol development, and the strengthening of data management.
The project generated several important spin-offs, including the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis platform (BRISA), focused on systematic reviews and meta-analyses in preclinical research, and the Brazilian Reproducibility Network (Rede Brasileira de Reprodutibilidade), which brings together researchers from various institutions to promote open science practices. In 2024, the Network provided recommendations to CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), which served as input for changes in the policies of the federal research funding agency.
The Einstein Foundation recognized the importance of the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative as one of the few systematic replication efforts of laboratory experiments in the field of biomedicine worldwide, also highlighting the project’s ability to mobilize researchers from a single country with the aim of advancing national science. As part of the award, the project will receive €100,000 (one hundred thousand euros), which is expected to ensure its sustainable continuation over the coming years.
Watch the interview that Prof. Dr. Olavo Amaral gave to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Dirnagl on the Einstein Foundation channel, in which he discusses the importance of the project for data collection and for expanding knowledge about reproducibility in Brazilian science:
In addition to the award granted to the Brazilian project, Prof. Dr. Simine Vazire (Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences in the Ethics and Wellbeing Hub) was also recognized in the Individual Award category, as well as the project Erring Rigorously, led by Dr. Maximilian Sprang (University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz), in the Early Career Award category.
All information about the awardees can be found on the official page for the Einstein Foundation Award 2025.
