We wanted to share with the community a new service offering available through Pitt IT for researchers who need access to NIH controlled-access data repositories. This is regarding a new NIH policy (NOT-OD-24-157), Implementation Update for Data Management and Access Practices Under the Genomic Data Sharing Policy, effective January 25, 2025.
The Secure Data Enclave is a cloud-based environment designed to safeguard sensitive data and facilitate research. This solution is compliant with the policy and NIH Security Best Practices and specifically addresses requirements for downloading data from NIH controlled-access data repositories.
Researchers are encouraged to first submit a request though the Office of Sponsored Programs to start the process. Once the request goes through the OSP, the requests are sent over to Scott Weinman's team for review. And then if approved, go to the Pitt cloud team to provision the SRE environment.
Researchers who will request or renew data access from one of the NIH controlled access repositories on or after January 25, 2025, should then submit a request or call 412-624-HELP (4357) in advance. A representative from Pitt IT will assist you with onboarding to a compliant IT environment, as well as provide information on associated costs for setup and implementation.
For questions about the Genomic Data Sharing Policy, please see these FAQs on the NIH website. Please note that data downloaded from these repositories must be protected using NIST 800-171 security controls.