Reseach Legacy Network works with leading and retired Canadian scientists to preserve, digitize, and share the irreplaceable stories held in their lab notebooks — before they disappear.
Lab notebooks capture experiment design, context, and the many paths that didn’t quite work. They are teaching resources, records of technological innovation, and guides to greener, less wasteful science.
We are a non-profit initiative dedicated to preserving the everyday work of science: lab notebooks, protocols, sketches, and marginalia that rarely make it into formal publications.
To protect, preserve, and share the lab notebooks of leading Canadian scientists, with special focus on researchers approaching retirement and the estates of retired scientists.
Values
Objectives
The Research Legacy Network grew out of conversations with researchers approaching retirement who were thinking, often for the first time, about what happens to a lifetime of work when the lab changes hands.
We kept hearing the same thing: “I want to share what we learned—but the real value is locked in the notebooks.” Papers capture the conclusions, but the context lives elsewhere: the false starts, the practical tweaks, the instrument quirks, the “why this worked” notes, and the experimental details that make results reproducible and reusable.
Without an easy path to preserve and organize that context, notebooks get boxed, misplaced, or become inaccessible— and the knowledge that could fuel new discoveries effectively disappears.
We created a researcher-first program to change that: we help labs digitize legacy records, add lightweight structure and metadata, and prepare materials for controlled preservation or repository deposit when the creator approves—aligned with existing institutional and TTO policies.
The goal is simple: your work shouldn’t become harder to find as it becomes more valuable.
Legacy Labnotes was founded by researchers and science advocates who understand the quiet, everyday labour that underpins discovery.
Dr. Paul Moorehead is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Faculty of Medicine. He practices at the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre/Eastern Health and contributes research in bleeding disorders, hemophilia, and pediatric oncology. He is also a published poet, with a collection titled Green scheduled for release in 2025.
Chandra holds a PhD in research ethics and has extensive experience in leadership, health innovation and public-sector policy. she is a long-standing advocate for women’s rights and Indigenous rights, contributing to policy discussions, equity frameworks, and community initiatives aimed at improving access, representation, and ethical treatment across public systems.
Blaine is a lifelong innovator and entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning data privacy, business development, and applied AI research. He works at the intersection of technology, governance, and commercialization—helping organizations turn complex, messy information into high-value, usable assets while maintaining rigorous privacy and ethical standards.
As scientists retire or change roles, their lab notebooks are often boxed up, discarded, or left inaccessible. Years of tacit knowledge vanish with them.
The Legacy Labnote MicroGrant provides practical, targeted support to help labs image, structure, and preserve lab notebooks and related research records—so valuable work remains usable, auditable, and research-ready.
Inelligble Activity
Whether you are a PI nearing retirement, a lab manager, a graduate student, or a family member managing a scientific estate, we’d love to hear from you.
Prefer email?
You can also reach the Legacy Labnotes team at director@researchlegacy.org. For security, please do not email sensitive personal information or unpublished data without prior agreement.
Ideal time to contact us
— Within 2–3 years of planned retirement.
— When a lab is restructuring or closing.
— When managing the estate of a scientist with significant lab records.