The Sex Inclusive Research Framework to address sex bias in preclinical research proposals

An interactive Sex Inclusive Research Framework (SIRF) supports the evaluation of in vivo and ex vivo research proposals to address the risk of sex bias in preclinical research. The framework delivers a traffic light classification, indicating whether a proposal is appropriate, risky, or insufficient with regard to sex inclusion. This tool is designed for use by researchers, (animal) ethical review boards, and funders to generate a rigorous and reproducible assessment of sex inclusion at the proposal level, thus helping address and resolve the embedded sex bias in preclinical research.