New to the AD Data Initiative? Start Here!

Welcome to our community of researchers, bound together by our passion to fundamentally transform ADRD research through data sharing and open science.

Scroll through the article below or use the pink navigation bar to the left to start learning about AD Workbench.

What is AD Workbench?

AD Workbench is a cloud-based platform that offers researchers permissioned access to datasets, secure and collaborative workspaces, data analysis tools, and a community forum for research discussions and technical help, all at no cost to users.

Watch a quick video demo to learn how to navigate and use AD Workbench features:

Summary of AD Data Initiative Resources

Perform analysis in our cloud-compute workspace environment.

*AD Workbench requires a two-factor, password protected login.

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AD Workbench

Join our online researcher community with resources, tech support, and more.

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AD Connect

Discover data, inform your workspace and data requests.

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Dataset Summaries Search

Request datasets to access in your workspace.

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FAIR Dataset Search Portal

Submit your own data to share and use on AD Workbench.

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Submit Data

How to use AD Workbench?

To start analyzing data on AD Workbench, follow a four-step process to inform your research plans and submit requests for a workspace and datasets.

1. Develop your research plans by exploring datasets and metadata.

Inform your workspace and dataset requests by exploring data on AD Connect Data Summaries and FAIR Data Search.

Explore and review Data Summaries on AD Connect:

Find inspiration and quickly learn about the newest and most popular datasets.
Find links to manuscripts, publishing results, and other pertinent information about the datasets.

Analyze Metadata and request data on AD Workbench with FAIR Data Search:

Search datasets by tags and keywords and explore summary statistics.
Dive into readily available metadata without a workspace or dataset request.

2. Submit a workspace request form.

Request an analytics workspace with a 5-minute form that describes your role, research, and analytic needs. 

3. Request access to the dataset in FAIR Data Search.

Once your workspace request is approved, you can request access to your chosen dataset in FAIR Data Search:

Navigate to your chosen dataset(s) and select the “Request Access” key icon at the top.
Submit a short 5-minute form with details about your research objectives.

4. Access Approved Datasets & Analyze.

Depending on the dataset, you will receive an email to access approved files from one of the following options:

Via the 'Ready for Transfer' icon from your request in FAIR. From your workspace Files tab, access the 'Inbox' and the requested data files will appear. Click Approve and choose the file destination.
Via a read-only drive from your workspace VM.
In a federated manner. Find more details and help here.
Via remote registration and download into your workspace. Guides are found in the TDrive.

To download results, select the results file you want and choose the 'Airlock' option.

Learn more about accessing datasets here.

Learn more about analyzing datasets here.

What are the AD Workbench Features?

Access approved FAIR dataset requests for data analysis and downloads. Learn how.
Import your own datasets and CSV files for analysis. Learn how.
Use our suite of Data Analysis Tools*. Learn how.
Use a Virtual Machine (w/ Linux and/or Windows OS) for heavy-compute analysis. Learn how.
Collaborate with fellow researchers and invite them to join your workspace. Learn how.

*Additional analysis tools such as Docker, GitLab, Julia, LibreOffice, and Visual Studio Code, are pre-installed on the VM Data Science template (for a full list of tools, click here).