NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy
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 (available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-124.html). The GDS Policy is also available at http://gds.nih.gov/03policy2.html.
The GDS Policy applies to all NIH-funded research (e.g., grants, contracts, and intramural research) that generates large-scale human or non-human genomic data, regardless of the funding level, as well as the use of these data for subsequent research. Large-scale data include genome-wide association studies (GWAS), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) arrays, and genome sequence, transcriptomic, epigenomic, and gene expression data. Supplemental Information to the GDS Policy (available at http://gds.nih.gov/pdf/supplemental_info_GDS_Policy.pdf) provides examples of genomic research projects that are subject to the Policy and the timeline for submission and sharing of data from such projects.
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 January 25, 2015.
Related Resources
The following NIH websites provide additional information on genomic research and the GWAS Policy:
Questions about the Policy can be e-mailed to GDS@mail.nih.gov.
Copyright ©2013 NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium.
