Making Advanced Research Computing More Accessible With NIH Cloud Lab

Guest post by Sean Mooney, PhD, recently appointed Director of the NIH Center for Information Technology, to announce the launch of NIH Cloud Lab for all NIH-affiliated* researchers. Learn more or request an account here.

As I step into my role as Director of the NIH Center for Information Technology (CIT), I am continually amazed by the contributions our NIH community makes to the digital ecosystem underpinning biomedical research. A key focus of mine is the advancement of collaborative, data-driven research in “the cloud”, and my colleagues and I are determined to make access to and expertise in cloud computing more widely available across the NIH research community.

Researchers today often face barriers when adopting and integrating cloud-based technologies. Common concerns range from complex procurement processes and unpredictable costs to the availability of relevant training and assurances on data security. As a response, the NIH Center for Information Technology has partnered with NIH’s Office of Data Science Strategy to offer two programs: the NIH STRIDES Initiative and NIH Cloud Lab.

NIH STRIDES streamlines the procurement of commercial cloud services from our partners: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Participating NIH-funded researchers benefit from exclusive features, favorable pricing, dedicated support, and discounted cloud training. As of May 2024, more than 2,300 research programs have enrolled in STRIDES, storing over 300 petabytes of data!

For those interested in using cloud technology without making an initial long-term commitment, NIH Cloud Lab enables researchers to try cloud capabilities at no cost in a secure, NIH-approved environment. Participants receive 90 days of access to Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure along with $500 of no-cost cloud credits. 

To help accelerate researchers’ cloud fluency, we offer an extensive repository of interactive tutorials that demonstrate how to run realistic bioinformatic, data science, and AI workflows. Tutorials address a variety of scientific topics, including generative AI, variant calling, single-cell RNA sequencing, proteomics, medical imaging, and more! The best part is these tutorials are also public and available in GitHub to anyone with a self-funded cloud account.

Cloud Lab’s breadth of technical features and support from bioinformatic and cloud experts make it a good fit for individuals with all levels of cloud knowledge, from cloud beginners to experienced researchers. Regardless of a participant’s level of experience, Cloud Lab’s integration with the Researcher Auth Services (RAS) solution minimizes time spent setting up an account by enabling most researchers to log in with their home institution username and password. This helps participants get up and running as quickly as possible.

One of the most significant benefits of this simplified onboarding process has been the democratization of access to computational and data science resources. Since 2023, Cloud Lab has seen participation from 368 National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) grantees from 102 research institutions in the Institutional Development Program, which builds research capacity in states that have historically received low levels of NIH funding. Our team also integrated twelve interactive bioinformatics tutorials developed by NIGMS grantees into the Cloud Lab experience!

NIH-affiliated* researchers interested in Cloud Lab are welcome to sign up at any time by visiting our Cloud Lab homepage, and academic institutions looking to supplement their coursework or workshops with Cloud Lab can contact our team at [email protected]. Stay tuned to the CIT homepage for exciting updates and enhancements to our offerings. We’re looking forward to helping you on your cloud adoption journey!

*NIH-affiliated includes recipients of NIH funding and researchers at institutions eligible for NIH funding who may not have an active award.