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Obtaining Access to Submit Data

The GDC requires that organizations interested in submitting data to the GDC must first apply for data submitter authorization through dbGaP. 

Data Submission Access Process

In order to obtain access to submit data to the GDC, a PI must first obtain an NIH eRA Commons account and then apply for data submitter access through the NCBI database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP). Once a researcher has obtained an eRA Commons account, registered the study in dbGaP, and has approval from dbGaP to submit data for this project, they can contact the GDC via the GDC Help Desk. The GDC will then create the project in GDC and grant submission privileges to those individuals specified by the PI as data submitters. The researcher then submits the subject identifiers (IDs) in dbGaP. Once the subject IDs are available in dbGaP, the researcher can submit data to the GDC using GDC Data Submission Processes and Tools. 

Image illustrating the Data Submission Access Process which involves the following steps: Step 1: Obtain an eRA Commons Account, Step 2: Register the study in dbGaP, Step 3: Obtain dbGaP approval, Step 4: Submit Subject IDs in dbGaP, Step 5: Contact GDC regarding the new project, Step 6: Submitting data into the GDC. Step 5 can be performed in parallel with Step 4.

Data Submission Access Process

Applying for Data Submission Through dbGaP

The GDC requires that data submitters register their studies in dbGaP and submit all subject IDs associated with the study to dbGaP before data submission into GDC. See Obtaining Access for Controlled Data for important details on this process and helpful links. Once the study is registered and approved by dbGaP, and the subject IDs have been entered in dbGaP, data submitters can begin the GDC data submission process using GDC Data Submission Processes and Tools

Using GDC Data Submission Processes and Tools

Once a researcher has an eRA Commons account, they can go to the GDC Data Submission Portal and login at the top right of the screen. This will allow a researcher to submit data that has been approved by dbGaP.  A researcher can also submit large amounts of data via the GDC Data Transfer Tool using the token obtained from logging into the GDC Data Submission Portal.