The CFDE Cloud Workspace

ABSTRACT The Cloud Workspace of the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) will make it easy for a wide range of researchers to analyze data and work together. Our primary goal is to create a user-friendly environment where researchers can import their data, analyze their data alongside other Common Fund datasets, and use a variety of analysis tools and workflows. Our Cloud Workspace Implementation Center (CWIC) leverages the existing partnerships between the Texas Advanced Computing Center’s (TACC) unparalleled public high-performance resources, Galaxy’s open-source online interface for analyzing data and authoring workflows, and CloudBank’s tools that simplify cloud resource access and billing. By leveraging our existing resources and skills, this CWIC can streamline implementation of the Cloud Workspace. This Cloud Workspace will provide users with access to Common Fund datasets, allow users to import data from other sources, and allow for data integration and analysis. Users will have access to a wide range of tools, workflows, and pipelines developed by the CFDE, by Galaxy, and by other partners. In addition, users will have the flexibility to use custom or third-party tools within the workspace. The CWIC will cater to the needs of both novice and expert users by offering outreach, training, and support designed to meet the diverse needs of its users. This effort will include user manuals, online tutorials, and tools to help users manage computing costs across public and commercial computing resources. Current scientific discoveries can be expensive, relying on large datasets and intensive computational processing power. Notably, this Cloud Workspace will enable science across a broad set of researchers, providing access to large amounts of storage and compute at no cost to new users and trainees. By promoting data sharing, collaboration, and ease of access, the CWIC will speed up biomedical research and address high-priority challenges for our nation. The CFDE Cloud Workspace represents a significant step towards realizing the vision of broadening the community of scientists with the power to tackle complex research questions and drive innovation.