FAQs for Institutional Signing Officials

How does All of Us verify which researchers are affiliated with my institution?

After a DURA has been signed, you will provide the All of Us Researcher Workbench Access Team with a list of acceptable email domains, such as @vumc.org. These email domains must be specific to your institution and cannot include generic email domains, such as @gmail.com. After the acceptable email domains are established, affiliated researchers will be able to register for the Researcher Workbench.

Can my institution specify different acceptable email domains for the Registered and Controlled Tiers?

Yes, your institution can establish different acceptable email domains for the Registered and Controlled Tiers.

Can I add another acceptable email domain at any time?

Yes, additional acceptable email domains can be added to your DURA at any time. If you would like to add another acceptable email domain for your institution, please reach out to aoudurasupport@vumc.org. In addition, if the All of Us Researcher Workbench Access Team receives a request from a researcher who is affiliated with your institution, but does not use an acceptable email domain, they will contact you to ask if their email domain should be added.

How do I know which researchers from my institution are using the Researcher Workbench?

After the DURA has been signed, you will be asked to complete a registration form in which you will provide the name of a monthly user reporting contact at your institution. This contact will receive a monthly user report that shows the users from your institution who have access to the Registered and/or Controlled Tiers (i.e., users who have completed all required registration steps). This monthly user report includes the users’ names, email addresses, access tier(s), and details of the workspaces they have created in the Researcher Workbench.

How do we monitor researcher accounts under our DURA?

As stated above, there is a regular user report sent to the monthly user reporting contact at each institution. They will be able to review the list and request removal of users from the Researcher Workbench if needed. 

How long will setup in the Researcher Workbench take after the agreement has been completed?

After the agreement has been signed, your institution will have access to the Researcher Workbench within two business days. The researchers from your institution who requested access will receive an email notifying them that they can register.

If my institution signed a DURA, how do researchers from my institution access the Researcher Workbench?

After the DURA is signed, researchers can create an account. Researchers will be required to complete 2-step verification, verify their identity, sign the Data User Code of Conduct, and complete the Responsible Conduct of Research training.

Does All of Us have intellectual property rights over products developed from data in the Workbench? 

All of Us claims no intellectual property rights on products developed from research using All of Us data. All of Us supports and recommends that research products and services emerging from secondary research using All of Us data be accessible broadly and equitably.

What is included in the All of Us Responsible Conduct of Research Training?

Below is a brief overview of what is reviewed in our Responsible Conduct of Research training. 

COURSE I: ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM: Provides a general overview of the All of Us Research Program and the use of its data resources. Researchers will learn about key elements of data access and user requirements.

COURSE II: RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH: Provides an overview of ethical requirements regarding the protection of human participants in research, research misconduct and behaviors that can compromise research integrity, and requirements for safeguarding All of Us Research Program data.  Researchers will learn that research about subgroups can potentially be stigmatizing, such as populations defined by sex, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, disease status, Tribal membership, or any other mechanism. Researchers will also learn that they need to understand the populations and/or groups they choose to study well enough to identify topics that are potentially sensitive.

COURSE III: RESEARCH SECURITY AND PRIVACY PROTECTIONS: Provides awareness training in understanding basic principles of data security and privacy statutes and recognizing national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information, including electronic personal health information. Researchers will learn about the importance of protecting All of Us data and data shared by participants.

What project information is included in a workspace description?

To use the Workbench, researchers must first create a workspace with a description of their research project. Researchers must address the following questions in their workspace description:

• What is the primary purpose of your project?
• What are the specific scientific question(s) you intend to study, and why is the question important (i.e., relevant to science or public health)?
• What are the scientific approaches you plan to use for your study? Describe the datasets, research methods, and tools you will use to answer your scientific question(s).
• What are the anticipated findings from the study? How would your findings contribute to the body of scientific knowledge in the field?
• Will your study focus on any historically underrepresented populations?

Workspace descriptions are publicly available on our Research Projects Directory.