Berlin becomes third operational GHGA Data Hub

Network structure with seven data hubs, three highlighted: 'Heidelberg', 'Tübingen', and 'Berlin', enlarged by a magnifying glass and marked with gears.

The GHGA data infrastructure is designed as a federated network, consisting of a central coordination unit and federated Data Hubs located at research institutions across Germany. These hubs act as data processors, ensuring that sensitive human genome data can be stored, processed, and made available to the research community under the highest security standards.

Since the launch of the GHGA Data Portal in August 2024, we have steadily expanded our infrastructure: Heidelberg hosted the first dataset , Tübingen followed   shortly thereafter, and now Berlin has joined as the third operational data hub. With GHGA datasets now hosted at three different sites, this step strengthens the distributed backbone of our infrastructure and brings us closer to a fully federated data platform.

The first dataset  submitted to the Berlin hub - which is jointly run by the Max Delbrück Center and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - comprises single nuclei RNA sequencing data from 16 samples derived from 13 salivary gland cancer tumor biopsies. The study   led by researchers from NCT and Charité provides new insights into the tumor immune microenvironment in advanced salivary gland cancers.

Looking ahead, we will continue to onboard further Data Hubs, expanding our federated infrastructure and strengthening our ability to support large-scale genomic research.