About the HHEAR Data Repository

In 2015, the United States (US) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) launched the Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource (CHEAR), a groundbreaking initiative focused on spurring exposomic research and advancing our understanding of the role of environmental exposures in children’s health research. In 2019, the CHEAR program evolved into the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) program expanding its focus beyond childhood to include studies on adulthood. A key achievement of these programs was the establishment of a public data repository, referred to as the HHEAR Data Repository, that contains data from all studies within the CHEAR and HHEAR programs. The repository contains study data in two formats: original data files deposited by individual studies as well as study data standardized to a common vocabulary, the HHEAR ontology, to promote data pooling. More information on the HHEAR Data Repository can be found in our publication.

How to access

  • Access the Repository: link
    To access the repository, users must log-in with their unique username and password. When first registering as a new users, individuals will view and agree to the HHEAR Data Use Guide and Publication policy. After choosing a unique username and password, users will be able to access the data and metadata stored within the HHEAR Data Repository. Limited narrative information about individual studies is available without requiring registration.
  • Terms of use: link
    Users should periodically review the terms and conditions, security best practices and security standards to ensure compliance with HHEAR Data Repository policies.

  • Citation guidance: link
    Users should review the HHEAR Publications policy, as outlined in Section 4.0, in order to cite the use of HHEAR data in developing manuscripts, meeting abstracts, posters and/or presentations.

    Citations within a bibliography should follow the following format: PI Name. Project Name. Type of Data.Year of Deposition. Repository Name, Access Date. DOI

    Example: Christiani D. Relating metals exposure to birth and early childhood outcomes via the metabotype of cord blood. Targeted Lab Analytic Data 2016. HHEAR Data Repository, Accessed 4/24/2024. https://doi.org/10.36043/34_94

    For your convenience, an RDF file containing citation details for all HHEAR datasets is provided for import into Zotero or other reference management software: RDF

Quick start checklist

  1. Register for an Account
  2. Review the Data Use Guide and Publication Policies
  3. View Video Trainings and Tutorials to learn how to browse the repository, construct and download a customized dataset