N3C is Open for Business. Learn How to Get Started.

The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) has created a large, centralized data resource available to the research community to study COVID-19 at a scale and statistical power not possible within any single institution. N3C has assembled a standardized collection of clinical, laboratory and diagnostic data from hospital electronic health records and health care plans across the country for analysis within an accessible, cloud-based data enclave. Here is how you can get involved:

• Secure IRB approval from your institution – submit a request for human subjects research exemption from your IRB (see template here). See also this example of the HIPAA Waiver Request.
• On-board with the N3C data enclave – register for membership (ORCID ID required) and gain access to workstreams (e.g., Collaborative Analytics) to share how-to’s and solutions.
• Read the N3C Data User Code of Conduct.
• Create an account to access the N3C Data Enclave.
• Train Up! All users of the N3C Data Enclave are required to complete the 2020 Information Security, Counterintelligence, Privacy Awareness, Records Management Refresher, Emergency Preparedness Refresher. Users are also expected, but not required, to complete the Palantir Fundamentals training course available within an active N3C account.
• Prepare Information to submit a Data Use Request (DUR). Guided by this template, a DUR will need to be completed online upon accessing the enclave, requiring upload of your IRB approval letter.​​​​​​​

The DUR and IRB approval letter can be submitted to N3C once the DUA is signed by the University. In the meantime, CCTS Partner Institutions are establishing the requisite Data Use Agreements with N3C. Currently, three CCTS partner institutions have signed data use agreements in place and investigators at those sites are eligible to analyze data in the enclave: Auburn University, The University of Alabama, and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Click to view the full list of institutions with active DUAs.

Additional Resources:

Getting started powerpoint presentation.
Access the N3C Helpdesk here.
Review the N3C Registration Checklist.
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

*On July 29th, CCTS and the UAB Informatics Institute hosted an N3C workshop aimed at preparing researchers to utilize this data resource. Access those presentation slides here. Recording of the event is available on the CCTS Video Channel.

	Analyst-faciliated Data Access	i2b2 Self-Service	TriNetX Research™	National COVID Cohort Collaboration (N3C)	ACT Network
Data Type	EHR, inclusively	Significant* reflection of EHR structured data (e.g., labs, meds, diagnoses, procedures, billing codes and more)	Limited Structured data (e.g., labs, meds, procedures, billings codes)	Structured data related to COVID-19 (e.g., labs, meds, procedures, billing codes)	Structured data (labs, meds, procedures, billings codes)
Who can access	UAB Faculty and Staff CCTS based on IRB approval or policy	UAB Faculty and Staff  CCTS Partners (coming soon)	UAB Faculty and Staff	UAB Faculty, Staff and ***participating Institutions	UAB Faculty and Staff
Patient Population	UAB Medicine	UAB Medicine	UAB + over 70 HCOs	UAB + over 50 HCOs	CCTS Partners (coming soon)
Results	PHI / PII, HIPAA Limited Data (LDS) Aggregate Counts	HIPAA Limited Data Aggregate Counts	HIPAA Limited Data  Aggregate Counts	HIPAA Limited Data Aggregate Counts	Aggregate Counts
Downloadable	Yes (with assistance)	Yes	Yes (HIPAA LDS with approval)	No	Yes
IRB Requirement	Approved Investigator-initiated protocol if PHI or LDS	**No individual IRB  Approval required	Approved Investigator- initiated protocol for LDS	Approved Investigator-initiated protocol	**No individual IRB Approval required
Cost to Use	CCTS/Informatics Instituted Supported; Budget in grants	CCTS/Informatics Institute Supported	Free preparatory to research; Budget in grants	No Charge	CCTS/Informatics Institute Supported

EHR, Electronic Health Record; HCO, Healthcare Organization; PHI, Protected Health Information; PII, Personally identifiable information, HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; CTSA, Clinical and Translational Science Award(ee)

*Fact types include allergy data, billed charges, biospecimen data, blood pressure, BMI and waist, cancer registry, clinical diagnosis, consult orders, diagnosis-related group (DRG), encounter insurance, encounter service, height, weight, immunizations, lab panels, lab powerplans, labs, medications, microbiology, select powernotes, problems, procedures (CPTs, ICD9/10), radiology events, social history, surgery data, etc.

** Permitted Users, covered entities, and any Authorized Party on User's behalf listed in (Research Title/Grant Title) may use i2b2 self-service Limited Data Sets only for the purposes which shall be limited to research, public health activities, and health care operations as defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule (per IRB protocol E160105006)  and not for no other purpose.

*** Institutions listed on the N3C website https://covid.cd2h.org/enclave_DUA_signatories




i2b2 is a scalable informatics framework designed for translational research. It enables users to perform an enterprise-wide search on a de-identified repository of health information. CCTS Informatics offers hands-on i2b2 training to investigators twice a month, with follow-up support on an as-needed basis.
i2b2 Login
The ACT Network is a real-time, open-access platform allowing researchers throughout the CTSA consortium to explore and validate recruitment feasibility for multi-site clinical studies using electronic health record data. ACT is NIH-funded, HIPAA-compliant and IRB-approved. Usingthe ACT Network, investigators can:

• Explore patient populations in depth, in real time, from their desktop.
• Confirm study feasibility by iteratively testing and refining inclusion and exclusion criteria.
• Demonstrate study feasibility in funding proposals and IRB submissions.
• Identify potential partners for multi-site studies by searching for patients across the CTSA network.

All qualified investigators at institutions within the CCTS Partner Network may request access to ACT by contacting CCTS Clinical Informatics Director Matt Wyatt at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you already have log-in credentials, click below to access.

ACT Network Login
For more complex data needs, including access to detailed data sets, investigators can submit a request to CCTS Informatics for support from an Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW) analyst.

The Informatics Gateway is an enterprise-wide forum for collaborative project development. The Gateway gathers experts in the appropriate area of informatics, along with biostatisticians, methodologists, and clinical and translational scientists, to help investigators explore novel research directions. To submit a project idea for consideration, fill in our Informatics Gateway Request Form or contact CCTS Research Commons at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 205-996-4478. 

Informatics Gateway
Request Form

CCTS Bioinformatics provides data and analytic support for the following:

• Next Generation Sequence Analysis
• Microarray analysis
• Microbiome
• Data storage, management, and sharing plans
• Southeast SHRINE Consortium
• Educational tools and programs

CCTS Clinical Research Informatics provides access to clinical data in the UAB Health System electronic health record to support:

• Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) Initiative
• Data access and exchange (via i2b2, SHRINE, and EDW analysts)
• Subject recruitment and retention tools—cohort feasibility, subject identification (with IRB approval), clinical phenotype
• Design and implementation of clinical research studies and secondary data analyses
• Targeting clinical trial opportunities (TriNetX)
• Informatics research (UAB Informatics Institute)
• Data science for population insights and "big data" integration

CCTS Informatics offers multiple opportunities throughout the year for investigators interested in learning more about informatics or how to use informatics tools such as i2b2. CCTS also offers a series of i2b2 training videos for those researchers who prefer the flexibility of learning online and/or who wish to refresh their i2b2 knowledge.