Scientific Data Council | Data Science at NIH

About the Council

The NIH Scientific Data Council (SDC) is an internal NIH committee made up of senior NIH and Institute and Center (IC) leaders and data scientists. The SDC was created in 2013 and was constituted as part of a multifaceted expansion of NIH programs and governance related to data science. The SDC is intended to address, in a trans-NIH manner, the growing challenges and opportunities associated with “big data” and data science (broadly defined) in biomedical research, thereby improving data utilization by the research community so as to transform the impact of biomedical, clinical, and public health research.

Roles and Responsibilities

The primary roles and responsibilities of the SDC are to provide broad, trans-NIH programmatic leadership in the area of data science by:

Addressing emergent and ongoing needs related to biomedical data, which include, but are not limited to, areas such as data sustainability, data usability, and data security, and which are appropriate to address in a trans-NIH manner;
Providing guidance on the infrastructure(s) needed to support (1);
Developing an NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science, with input from NIH and IC leadership, HHS, scientists, policymakers, scientific and professional societies, and the general public;
Serving in an advisory capacity to the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) on data science, including on the implementation of the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science;
In consultation with the ODSS, establishing subcommittees and working groups necessary to implement the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science;
Providing guidance about the interaction of NIH data science activities with those across ICs and outside of NIH (e.g., of other government agencies, the private sector, and other funding agencies – private and public, national and international);
Synergizing with the “parallel” NIH Administrative Data Council and Data Science Policy Council.

Roster

CO-CHAIRS

Michael Chiang, M.D.
Director, National Eye Institute

Susan Gregurick, Ph.D. (Ex Officio)
Associate Director for Data Science, NIH
Director, Office of Data Science Strategy

Jon Lorsch, Ph.D.
Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

MEMBERS

Josh Denny, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer, All of US, NIH

Ivor D'Souza, Acting Director (Ex Officio)
Center for Information Technology

Robert Eisinger, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, NIH

Gregory Farber, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Technology Development and Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health

Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Human Genome Research Institute

Michael Lauer, M.D. (Ex Officio)
Deputy Director for Extramural Research, NIH

John Prue, M.S.
Chief Information Officer
Director, Office of Information Technology
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Rebecca Rosen, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Data Science and Sharing, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Joni Rutter, Ph.D.
Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

Nina Schor, M.D., Ph.D. (Ex Officio)
Deputy Director for Intramural Research, NIH

Stephen Sherry, Ph.D. (Ex Officio)
Acting Director, National Library of Medicine

Richard Woychik, Ph.D.
Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP)

Wilbert Van Panhuis, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Executive Secretary

Shu Hui Chen, Ph.D.
Program Director, Office of Data Science Strategy, NIH