Genomic Data Sharing

Genomic research advances our understanding of factors that influence health and disease, and sharing genomic data provides opportunities to accelerate that research through the power of combining large and information-rich datasets. To promote sharing of human and non-human genomic data and to provide appropriate protections for research involving human data, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued the Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy on August 27, 2014, in the NIH Guide Grants and Contracts, and in the Federal Register on August 28, 2014. The GDS Policy is also available at http://gds.nih.gov/03policy2.html.

The GDS Policy takes effect for grant applications with due dates on or after January 25, 2015, for contracts submitted on or after January 25, 2015, and for intramural research projects generating genomic data on or after August 31, 2015.

Additional GDS Policy Resources

• NIH Intramural Investigators Responsibilities under the GDS Policy
• NIH Institutes and Center (IC) Genomic Program Administrators
• NIH Genomic Data Sharing Website

Examples of GDS Implementation Frameworks

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)