NHLBI BioData Catalyst® Powered by PIC-SURE
  • NHLBI BioData Catalyst® Powered by PIC-SURE User Guide
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Introduction to PIC-SURE
    • General Layout
    • Browse vs. Explore
  • Browse
    • Browse All Data
    • Features of Browse
  • Explore
    • Log in to Explore
    • Features of Explore
      • Prepare for Analysis
      • PFB Handoff to BioData Catalyst Powered by Terra
    • Manage Datasets
  • Data in PIC-SURE
    • Data Organization in BDC-PIC-SURE
      • BDC-PIC-SURE Data Format
    • Available Data & Managing Data Access
      • Publicly Available Datasets
      • TOPMed and TOPMed Related Datasets
        • Harmonized Data (TOPMed DCC Harmonized Clinical Variables)
      • BioLINCC Datasets
      • CONNECTS Datasets
  • Prepare for Data Analysis Using the PIC-SURE API
    • What is the PIC-SURE API?
    • PIC-SURE Personal Access Token
    • Analysis in the BioData Catalyst Ecosystem
      • BDC Powered by Seven Bridges
      • BDC Powered by Terra
    • Data Dictionaries via PIC-SURE API
    • More information about the PIC-SURE API
  • Citation and Acknowledgement of BioData Catalyst
  • Release Notes
    • Release Notes
      • 2025 May 8 Release
      • 2025 April 3 Release
      • 2025 March 5 Release
      • 2025 February 10 Release
      • 2024 Release Notes
        • 2024 December 19 Release
        • 2024 November 21 Release
        • 2024 November 4 Release
        • 2024 October 3 Release
        • 2024 September 5 Release
        • 2024 August 20 Release
        • 2024 August 1 Release
        • 2024 June 18 Release
        • 2024 May 29/30 Release
        • 2024 May 10/14 Release
        • 2024 March 26/28 Release
        • 2024 February 20/22 Release
        • 2024 January 30/31
        • 2024 January 16 Release
        • 2024 June 27 Release
      • 2023 Release Notes
        • 2023 December 12/14 Release
        • 2023 November 17 Release
        • 2023 October 23/31 Releases
        • 2023 October 13 Release
        • 2023 October 6 Release
        • 2023 September 28 Release
        • 2023 August 29 Release
        • 2023 July 27 Release
        • 2023 May 25 Release
        • 2023 March 30 Release
        • 2023 January 26 Release
  • Video Tutorials
    • Introduction to BioData Catalyst Powered by PIC-SURE
    • Basics: Finding Variables
    • Basics: Applying a Filter on a Variable
    • Basics: Editing a Variable Filter
    • PIC-SURE Open Access: Interpreting the Results
    • PIC-SURE Authorized Access: Add Variables to Export
    • PIC-SURE Authorized Access: Applying a Genomic Filter
    • PIC-SURE Authorized Access: Variable Distributions Tool
    • PIC-SURE Open Application Programming Interface (API)
  • Appendix
    • Glossary
    • Appendix 1: BDC Identifiers - dbGaP, TOPMed, and PIC-SURE
    • Appendix 2: Table of TOPMed DCC Harmonized Variables in PIC-SURE
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  1. NHLBI BioData Catalyst® Powered by PIC-SURE User Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

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Last updated 3 months ago

What data is available on BDC-PIC-SURE?

To check which studies are available, you can visit the Data Dashboard on the BDC-PIC-SURE website:

BDC continually ingests new datasets and updated versions of studies. If you don't see a dataset that you'd like to use for research, you can submit a .

How is the data organized in BDC-PIC-SURE?

Each variable from each study is associated with a specific concept path. To learn more about how these concepts paths are created, please refer to the .

How do I get access to data?

BioData Catalyst uses the Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes, or dbGaP, to manage data access. This means that to access a controlled dataset on BDC, you must have an active dbGaP Data Access Request, or DAR.

Note that BDC has publicly available studies, such as 1000 Genomes and BioLINCC training datasets, available to all researchers.

You can check out the for more information about data access on BDC.

For information from dbGaP on submitting a data access request, refer to .

What can I do if I don't have authorization to access any datasets?

You can still browse all studies available in BDC using BDC-PIC-SURE. With this tool, you can search for variables, apply filters, and conduct feasibility studies to determine which datasets work for your research. Please refer to the for more information about this.

Additionally, you can use one of the publicly available datasets on BDC. All investigators have access to these studies. These can be great for understanding BDC-PIC-SURE exports and setting up your analysis tools and workflows, especially while waiting for data access. To learn more about the publicly available datasets in BDC-PIC-SURE, please go to the .

What does the data look like when I export the cohort?

The participant-level data exported from PIC-SURE is formatted so that each column is a variable and each row is a participant.

Variables that were either filtered on or added for analysis will be displayed in the table's columns. Note that a few PIC-SURE-generated variables are automatically included with each export.

Each row pertains to a participant who was part of the filtered cohort.

How can I analyze my results in an analysis platform in BioData Catalyst?

There are a few ways to bring the selected participant-level data from BDC-PIC-SURE into one of the BDC analysis platforms, BDC-Seven Bridges or BDC-Terra. To learn more about this, please refer to the .

https://picsure.biodatacatalyst.nhlbi.nih.gov/dashboard
BDC HelpDesk ticket
Data Organization in BDC-PIC-SURE page
BDC Documentation for Data Access
Tips for Preparing a Successful Data Access Request documentation
Browse All Data page
Publicly Available Datasets page
Analysis in the BioData Catalyst Ecosystem page