Scientific Data Resources | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Skip Navigation
Scientific Data Resources
Close the left navigation
Add
Repositories for Environmental Health Sciences Data
The landscape of biomedical data repositories is vast and evolving. As outlined in NIH's guidance for
Selecting a Data Repository
, using a quality data repository generally improves the FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) of the data. For that reason, NIH strongly encourages the use of established repositories to the extent possible for preserving and sharing scientific data.
More resources and training opportunities for NIH sharing policies are available on the
NIH Learning
webpage.
Selecting a Data Repository:
For some programs or Funding Opportunities, NIH and/or NIEHS identify particular data repositories (or sets of repositories) to be used to preserve and share the data. For data generated from research subject to such policies or funded under such NOFOs, researchers should use the designated data repository(ies).
For data generated from research for which no data repository is specified by NIH, researchers are encouraged to select a data repository that is appropriate for the data generated from the research project.
Primary consideration should be given to data repositories that are discipline or data-type specific to support effective data discovery and reuse. Resources available to help researchers locate an appropriate repository for sharing or accessing data include the following:
The
NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Domain Specific Data Repositories Dashboard
lists domain-specific repositories that align with NIEHS-supported science areas.
The
NIH BioMedical Informatics Coordinating Committee (BMIC) Data Sharing Repositories website
lists additional NIH-supported data sharing resources.
If no appropriate discipline or data-type specific repository is available, researchers should consider a variety of other potentially suitable data sharing options:
Small datasets (up to 2 GB in size) may be included as supplementary material to accompany articles submitted to PubMed Central (
instructions
).
Data repositories, including
generalist repositories
or institutional repositories, that make data available to the larger research community, institutions, or the broader public.
Large datasets may benefit from cloud-based data repositories for data access, preservation, and sharing.
To learn more about methods for data sharing and selecting data repositories visit the
NIH Sharing Scientific Data
webpage.
Data and Metadata Standards Resources for Environmental Health Sciences
The
Environmental Health Language Collaborative
provides resources for getting started with ontologies, terminologies, and tools useful to harmonize EH research. The
EHS Ontology Resources Catalog
provides a compilation of organizations, ontologies/terminologies, and tools useful to harmonize environmental health research.
Data Management and Sharing Plan Development Resources
For information on NIEHS-specific recommendations on what to include in a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan, please visit the
NIEHS Data Management and Sharing Plan Development
webpage.
The NIEHS
Superfund Research Program Data Sharing Resources webpage
provides information and resources on data sharing, data repositories, citing data, data integration, and data science training.
Additionally, several community resources and tools are available to help researchers create, review, and share Data Management and Sharing Plans that meet institutional and funder requirements. Check out the resources below.
DMPTool
: Build a data management plan using this open-access data management plan tool that meets institutional and funder requirements.
DMPonline
: DMPonline helps to create, review, and share data management plans that meet institutional and funder requirements.
UK Data Service
: UK Data Service provides various resources to manage data and includes a checklist for identifying data management and sharing best practices.
Back
to Top
Last Reviewed: December 31, 2025