Research is more collaborative than ever. Whether researchers are recruiting participants, coordinating clinical trials, or sharing unpublished findings with colleagues across the globe, email remains one of the most widely used communication tools in academia and healthcare.

However, convenience comes with responsibility. Research communications often include sensitive information, such as participant data, study protocols, grant applications, and preliminary results. Without appropriate safeguards, email can become a source of accidental data exposure, regulatory noncompliance, or reputational damage.

Secure email helps research teams collaborate efficiently while protecting confidential information. For healthcare organizations and institutions handling protected health information (PHI), it also helps support compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

 

Why secure email matters in research

Email is a routine part of research. Investigators use it to recruit participants, coordinate with collaborators, submit documents to ethics committees, communicate with sponsors, and share research data throughout a study.

A study published in Heliyon titled ‘Enhancing the use of e-mail in scientific research and in the academy’ identified email as one of the most commonly used digital tools for research collaboration because it enables researchers to exchange ideas, share documents, coordinate projects, and maintain communication regardless of geographic location. The authors note that email has become an essential component of modern scientific collaboration, particularly in multidisciplinary and international research projects, stating that there is a “positive correlation between internet use and research productivity.”

However, the growing reliance on digital communication has also increased cybersecurity risks. Universities, research institutes, and healthcare organizations are frequent targets for phishing attacks, business email compromise (BEC), and ransomware because they manage valuable intellectual property and sensitive personal information. As noted in a Nature news report, “Over the past few years, cyberattacks have been on the rise at academic institutions around the globe.”

According to the 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), the human element, including phishing, stolen credentials, and user errors, was involved in 62% of data breaches. Email remains one of the primary entry points for these attacks, making secure communication practices essential for organizations that handle sensitive research information.

Under HIPAA, covered entities and business associates must implement appropriate safeguards when transmitting PHI electronically. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that healthcare providers may communicate with patients by email, provided they apply reasonable safeguards to protect patient privacy, such as verifying email addresses and using encryption when appropriate.

Beyond compliance, secure email helps researchers:

  • Protect participant privacy and confidential information.
  • Reduce the risk of unauthorized access to research data.
  • Safeguard unpublished findings and intellectual property.
  • Enable secure collaboration between institutions.
  • Build trust with participants, sponsors, ethics committees, and research partners.

Read also: 5 email threats that stand out in 2026

 

Research activities that benefit from secure email

Participant recruitment and communication

Email has become an effective tool for recruiting research participants. In a 2026 randomized clinical trial involving more than 15,000 potential participants, researchers found that “email led to a greater rate of engagement than contact through an EHR patient portal.” 9.9% of email recipients expressed interest in participating compared with 5.9% of those contacted through a patient portal. The authors concluded that the choice of communication method plays a key role in successful participant recruitment.

Email provides a convenient way to recruit volunteers, explain study objectives, answer questions, and maintain communication throughout a study. Common uses include:

  • Sending recruitment invitations
  • Scheduling appointments or study visits
  • Sharing informed consent documents
  • Providing reminders for follow-up visits
  • Communicating study updates
  • Responding to participant questions

 

Sharing sensitive research data

Research projects generate large volumes of sensitive information. Depending on the field, this may include clinical records, laboratory results, medical images, genomic sequencing data, survey responses, statistical analyses, and unpublished research findings.

Researchers frequently share these materials with collaborators, statisticians, laboratories, and external institutions for analysis or review. When this information contains identifiable participant data, standard email may not provide adequate protection. This is particularly important for biomedical research, where datasets often include information that could identify participants if improperly handled. Even when data has been de-identified, researchers should follow institutional data-sharing policies and applicable privacy regulations.

 

Collaboration between research institutions

Research is collaborative, with many projects spanning multiple universities, hospitals, laboratories, and even countries. In the middle of it, email remains one of the primary tools for coordinating these partnerships, enabling researchers to discuss study design, share protocols, exchange data, and make timely decisions without geographical barriers. As noted in the study Enhancing the use of e-mail in scientific research and in the academy, email continues to be one of the most widely used digital communication tools in academia because it supports document sharing, project coordination, and knowledge exchange among geographically dispersed research teams. However, collaborative research also increases the volume of sensitive information being shared electronically. Thus, using secure email helps research teams:

  • Share confidential documents safely.
  • Protect unpublished findings from unauthorized access.
  • Maintain data integrity during multi-site collaborations.
  • Reduce the risk of accidental disclosures.

Read also: Using HIPAA compliant email to enhance research collaboration

 

Institutional Review Board (IRB) and ethics communication

Before research involving human participants can begin, investigators must obtain approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee (REC). Throughout the study, researchers continue to communicate with ethics committees by submitting protocol amendments, annual progress reports, adverse event notifications, and study closure reports.

These communications often contain confidential information, including participant recruitment strategies, consent documents, and descriptions of potential risks.

Secure email helps protect these documents while ensuring they reach authorized reviewers. It also creates an audit trail that can be useful during inspections or compliance reviews.

For studies involving PHI, using secure email supports HIPAA compliance by reducing the likelihood of unauthorized disclosures during transmission.

 

Clinical trial coordination

Clinical trials involve constant communication between investigators, sponsors, clinical research organizations (CROs), laboratories, pharmacies, and regulatory authorities. Email can thus be used to:

  • Coordinate participant visits.
  • Share laboratory reports.
  • Discuss protocol deviations.
  • Report serious adverse events.
  • Manage trial logistics.
  • Exchange regulatory documents.

Because these communications may include participant information and confidential study data, protecting email is essential.

The International Council for Harmonisation's Good Clinical Practice (ICH E6(R3)) guideline requires that sponsors and investigators implement systems that ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of clinical trial data throughout the study lifecycle. Secure email supports these principles by helping protect sensitive communications from interception or unauthorized access.

Related: HIPAA compliant email during clinical trials

 

Communication with healthcare providers

Many clinical studies require ongoing communication between researchers and participants' healthcare providers. Physicians may help determine whether patients meet eligibility criteria, provide medical records, discuss laboratory findings, or report adverse events that occur during the study. When this communication contains PHI, researchers must ensure that only authorized individuals have access to the information.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the HIPAA Privacy Rule states that healthcare providers may “communicate electronically, such as through e-mail, with their patients, provided they apply reasonable safeguards when doing so.” Safeguards may include verifying email addresses before sending messages and/or using encryption when appropriate. Secure email enables researchers and clinicians to communicate efficiently while reducing the risk of exposing sensitive patient information.

 

Grant and funding administration

Securing funding is a critical part of the research process, and email plays a central role before, during, and after a grant is awarded. Researchers routinely exchange grant applications, budget justifications, letters of support, progress reports, financial documentation, and reviewer feedback. These documents often contain proprietary research ideas and sensitive financial information. Unauthorized disclosure could compromise future publications, patent applications, or competitive funding opportunities.

 

Manuscript preparation and peer review

Scientific publishing is a collaborative process that often involves multiple authors, editors, statisticians, and journal staff. Throughout manuscript preparation, researchers frequently exchange draft manuscripts, reviewer comments, supplementary datasets, and responses to peer reviewers. Until publication, these materials represent valuable intellectual property.

Secure email helps ensure that unpublished findings remain confidential and reduces the risk of accidental disclosure before formal publication. It can also help research teams maintain version control by ensuring documents are exchanged through secure, authenticated channels.

 

Data management and quality assurance

Maintaining data quality is essential for producing reliable research findings. Research coordinators, data managers, statisticians, and monitors regularly communicate about:

  • Data queries.
  • Missing information.
  • Database corrections.
  • Quality assurance reports.
  • Monitoring findings.
  • Data validation activities.

Errors or unauthorized changes to research data can compromise study integrity and affect the validity of published results. Using secure email safeguards communications throughout the data management process by encrypting sensitive messages and ensuring accountability with safe delivery and thorough record-keeping.

 

Why choose Paubox for research communication?

Research teams rely on email to recruit participants, coordinate clinical trials, share data, and collaborate across institutions. Paubox helps protect these communications by automatically encrypting outbound emails, eliminating the need for portals or extra passwords for recipients. This allows researchers to communicate securely without disrupting their workflows.

In addition to encryption, Paubox provides AI-powered inbound email security that helps protect organizations from phishing, malware, ransomware, and other email-based threats. Paubox is also designed to support regulatory compliance. The platform includes automatic email encryption, a signed business associate agreement (BAA), and HIPAA compliant email security features that help organizations safeguard electronic protected health information without disrupting existing workflows. Furthermore, it integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, making deployment straightforward for organizations that already rely on these platforms.

See also: The difference between secure and HIPAA compliant email

 

FAQS

Does secure email replace other cybersecurity measures?

No. Secure email is one part of a broader cybersecurity strategy. Organizations should also implement strong passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA), employee security awareness training, endpoint protection, and regular software updates.

 

What are the risks of using unsecured email?

Sending sensitive information through unsecured email can increase the risk of data breaches, phishing attacks, identity theft, unauthorized disclosures, and regulatory penalties.