An update this year to a University of Queensland state-of-the-art imaging platform will improve the traceability, reproducibility and long-term reusability of research data linked to it.
A mid-2025 update to PITSCHI (Particle Imaging depoT using Storage CacHing Infrastructure), a Clowder-based repository for managing large-scale imaging datasets that was co-developed by UQ’s Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM) and the Research Computing Centre (RCC), supports Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) at dataset, scientific instrument, and facility and organisational levels.
Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) are unique alpha-numeric codes that provide a global mechanism to uniquely identify and connect entities in the research system such as researchers, funders, organisations, articles, datasets, scientific instruments (such as microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, X-ray and mass spectrometry), software and samples.
PIDs improve research reproducibility and the tracking of research impact; contribute to research integrity and accountability; enable research innovation and efficiency; and help reduce duplication of research.
The PITSCHI update has also enhanced automated metadata capture and reduced manual curation for the platform’s users.
PITSCHI enables users to share, annotate, organise and analyse large collections of electron and correlative microscopy datasets with minimal manual handling of data.
CMM Director Professor Roger Wepf said about the update: “This is state-of-the-art because it makes imaging datasets AI-ready from day one—with persistent identifiers and automated metadata ensuring traceability, reproducibility, making datasets machine findable and seamlessly integrable into future processing and AI pipelines.
CMM Data Informatics Manager Dr Rubbiya Ali, who has a key role in designing and implementing PITSCHI, said platforms, such as PITSCHI, exemplify how PID integration—from data creation to sharing—supports researchers and strengthen the entire research data lifecycle.
“By embedding PIDs into each layer of the data lifecycle, PITSCHI transforms the role of an imaging data repository from simple storage into a dynamic infrastructure for greatly enhancing data discovery, reuse and research recognition,” Dr Ali said.
“For example, researcher identifiers, such as ORCID, can be linked to individual data sessions, ensuring proper attribution even if a researcher changes institutions or email addresses. This enhances academic recognition, supports automated reporting, and helps track dataset authorship accurately over time.”
PIDs assigned to scientific instruments also enable each dataset to be traced to the exact equipment used. “This supports reproducibility and allows users to filter or replicate results based on instrument configuration and specifications,” said Dr Ali.
Similarly, using organisational identifiers, such as ROR, ensures datasets are clearly associated with their contributing institutions. “This improves institutional visibility, enables the aggregation of research outputs, and strengthens collaboration tracking across organisations and infrastructure,” Dr Ali said.
Assigning Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to datasets also makes it easier for researchers to cite their data in publications. PITSCHI supports this through its built-in metadata extraction and ingestion workflows, integrating with systems like UQ eSpace for DOI minting. “This makes datasets more visible and citable, aligning with the FAIR data principles—Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable,” said Dr Ali.
RCC Senior Research Software Developer Dr Mark Endrei, who works closely with Dr Ali on PITSCHI development and support, said: “It has been great to see the positive reactions to this work from Rubbiya's talks at eResearch Australasia 2025 and FoundingGIDE 2025 with interest from other groups on how PITSCHI might be used in their environments.”
The implementation of PIDs within PITSCHI was made possible with the UQ research data services team and UQ eSpace team’s’ support. This included integration with existing UQ systems, such as the UQ Research Data Manager (UQRDM) platform, and the MeDiCI high-performance data storage fabric that UQRDM is connected to; Research Infrastructure Management System (RIMS); and UQ eSpace.
To align UQ’s implementation of PIDs with national and international strategies, the PITSCHI team works with Microscopy Australia and collaborates with the Australian Research Data Commons. ARDC is spearheading the adoption of PIDs in Australia and has developed a national roadmap to guide implementation.
Microscopy Australia CEO Lisa Yen said: “Microscopy Australia commends UQ on leading the way and implementing PIDs for instruments in PITSCHI. Microscopy Australia looks forward to a future when Australian microscopy data is ‘FAIR-er’, and instrument PIDs move us towards this goal.”
ARDC Product Manager (Persistent Identifiers) Siobhann McCafferty said: “To harness the power of PIDs for Australia, the ARDC developed a National PID strategy and in 2025 established a number of stakeholder action groups to develop capacity and reflect best practice of identifiers.
“UQ's PID integration work with PITSCHI is an excellent example of the work coming out of this consultation, and we are excited to see the development,” said Ms McCafferty.
RCC Director Jake Carroll said: “This is another significant step in maturing FAIR data practices and principles for our sector. I am glad we can bring this together in such a collaborative and impactful way.”
PITSCHI, launched in 2021, was originally developed as part of ARDC’s Australian Characterisation Commons at Scale project.
Since 2021, more than 600 researchers have used PITSCHI to manage 760 TB of data from 50 instruments across 9,300,000 files.
Read RCC and CMM’s previous article about PITSCHI to learn more about the platform’s development and impact.
