Contents: Background | Introduction | Challenges | Journey | Why LabKey | Results | Conclusion
Background
Southern Research is a contract research organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, operating across drug discovery, development, and engineering.
The Catalyst program is one of Southern Research’s most ambitious initiatives: a population genomics study designed to deliver personalized, clinically actionable health insights to the people of Alabama, with a particular focus on underrepresented and rural communities historically underserved by clinical research. Catalyst screens participants for genetic risk factors associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic conditions, and returns results directly to participants and their healthcare providers.
Introduction
Catalyst operates through a network of vendors and systems, each handling a distinct piece of the participant journey, from registration and consent to sample collection, sequencing, genetic analysis, and results delivery. Coordinating data across that ecosystem required a platform capable of serving as a central integration hub: one that could ingest data from multiple sources, automate operational workflows, enforce data quality, and support secure collaboration across teams.
Southern Research had chosen LabKey SDMS to coordinate operational data across the Catalyst ecosystem. As the kitting workflow grew in complexity, they expanded that deployment to include LabKey Sample Manager, which could power the sample tracking, inventory management, and workflow automation at the initiative’s core.
Challenges
Managing a multi-site, multi-vendor genomic initiative at population scale introduced several operational challenges:
Fragmented data across Excel spreadsheets: Core workflows, including provider onboarding and kit tracking, were managed across multiple disconnected Excel files with no single source of truth. Version control was inconsistent, manual entry was error-prone, and cross-team handoffs created delays.
No centralized coordination layer: With vendors handling different parts of the workflow, including participant engagement, sequencing, genetic analysis, and results delivery, there was no unified system to coordinate data flow, automate handoffs, or validate records across the pipeline.
Manual data verification: The medical affairs team spent significant time making phone calls and sending emails to validate provider information before kits could be shipped, a process that was inconsistent and difficult to audit.
Limited quality assurance: Without automated validation, missing links between samples, kits, participants, and providers could go undetected until they caused problems downstream.
Compliance readiness: As the project grew, the team needed a platform with built-in support for HIPAA compliance, role-based access controls, and full audit logging to streamline the management of sensitive participant data.
The Journey
Catalyst’s use of LabKey SDMS and Sample Manager evolved in stages, expanding from operational data coordination into a broader platform role as the project matured.
Building the data model: The team started by mapping their core operational processes and building a data model in Sample Manager around four entities: provider, patient, sample, and kit. A detailed data dictionary documented each field’s definition, source, format, and relationships, giving the team a clean foundation before any configuration began.
Provider onboarding: From there, they rebuilt provider onboarding entirely within LabKey SDMS, replacing multiple spreadsheets with a single workflow. Automated data loads, pre-filled email templates, and scheduled status summaries replaced manual entry and ad hoc communication.
Kitting workflow: The kitting workflow used Sample Manager to track kit inventory and link kits to samples, participants, and providers. Automated quality checks run every 15 minutes via the LabKey API, flagging missing links, duplicate samples, and unresolved records in real time.
Implementation support: Throughout, the LabKey services team configured the system, advised on API integrations, and built proof-of-concept demos tailored to Catalyst’s requirements.
“LabKey is not just a data platform — it’s the operational backbone of Catalyst.” – Mustafa Syed, Director of Bioinformatics, Southern Research
Why LabKey
Integration hub for a multi-vendor ecosystem: Catalyst relies on multiple specialized vendors for participant engagement, sequencing, genetic analysis, and results delivery. LabKey SDMS sits at the center, ingesting data from each system, coordinating handoffs, and maintaining a unified operational record.
“LabKey APIs are quite powerful — they help us integrate data from all these systems and seamlessly pass data to other vendors. We use LabKey as an integration hub in this process.” – Mustafa Syed, Director of Bioinformatics, Southern Research
Workflow automation at scale: Within Sample Manager, scheduled data loads, automated status emails, pre-filled communication templates, and API-driven quality checks replaced a substantial amount of manual work, freeing the team to focus on the science rather than data coordination.
Sample lineage and chain of custody: Sample Manager’s lineage view gives the team a visual, end-to-end view of each sample’s chain of custody, including linked kits, participants, and providers, with clickable navigation between entities.
“This one is our favorite — it shows the full chain of custody. Who the sample belongs to, where the kit is coming from, associated providers, participant. And having these clickable links makes navigation easier, fast, and intuitive.” – Mustafa Syed, Director of Bioinformatics, Southern Research
Configurability without rigidity: As the project evolved, workflow stages were refined and split to reflect operational reality. SDMS accommodated these changes without breaking existing records.
Responsive support: The LabKey services team was a consistent resource throughout the project, helping configure workflows, resolve API questions, and prototype new functionality before committing to implementation.
Results
Provider onboarding transformed: A process that previously required multiple Excel files, manual phone calls, and email coordination now runs as a single workflow within LabKey SDMS. Automated daily data loads, status summaries, and pre-filled outreach templates handle the majority of the process with minimal manual intervention.
Real-time quality assurance: Automated scripts running every 15 minutes via the LabKey API continuously validate kit-sample-participant-provider linkages within Sample Manager, flagging and resolving issues before they propagate downstream.
Centralized data coordination: Data from multiple vendors and systems flows through LabKey SDMS as a unified operational record, giving the team a single, searchable source of truth across the Catalyst workflow.
Conclusion
For Southern Research’s Catalyst project, LabKey SDMS is the integration layer that keeps a complex, multi-vendor genomic health initiative operationally coherent. Combined with Sample Manager, it connects systems, automates workflows, enforces data quality, and maintains the traceability the project requires as it grows.
“It’s kind of like instruments in music — each vendor is a different instrument in the symphony. It’s not just the variety, it’s the harmony. LabKey integrates it all and brings the structure and coordination.” – Mustafa Syed, Director of Bioinformatics, Southern Research
Hear it first hand from Southern Research’s presentation at the 2025 SDMS User Conference