Choosing the right computing environment for your research is an important decision. The table below will help you identify the best option for your work. For more details on each regulated computing environment, visit the computing platforms page.
This table includes both regulated and non-regulated computing environments to address the full range of research needs.
| Research Topic | Recommended Environment(s) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| High-performance computing in biomedical and physical sciences |
|
• AI/ML on medical images • Large-scale genomics (population studies, single-cell) • Molecular dynamics • Physics/chemistry simulations • Climate modeling |
| Clinical and health sciences research involving HIPAA-protected data |
|
• Clinical research datasets • Patient-derived genomics • Imaging tied to identifiers • NIH-sponsored controlled access studies • DoD-sponsored regulated research |
| Social sciences and humanities data analysis |
|
• Survey research with personal identifiers • Qualitative data (interviews, transcripts) • Text mining of large corpora • Collaboration projects with external partners |
| Secure desktop access (hospital or instructional use) |
|
• Chart abstraction from Epic • Statistical analysis using SPSS/Stata/SAS • Secure teaching environments • Student coursework requiring protected apps |
| Data storage & sharing |
|
• Departmental file sharing • Lab notebooks • Archiving survey data • Storing imaging datasets for research |
| Custom servers or flexible applications |
|
• Hosting a research web app • Building a secure API • Managing lab-level databases • Supporting external collaboration tools |
| Imaging & visualization workflows |
|
• Radiology research • 3D reconstructions • Multi-modal image analysis • Advanced visualization for collaborative teams |