General FAQs
Get answers to common questions about the Research Analysis Platform, and about UK Biobank data and systems.
Registration, Login, and Linking with the UK Biobank Access Management System
Who can sign up for the UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform?
How do I register for the Research Analysis Platform?
How do I create a Research Analysis Platform account?
Does my Research Analysis Platform info (username and email address) need to match my AMS info?
I tried creating a Research Analysis Platform account and got an error "Email Already Registered."
How do I log in to the Research Analysis Platform?
How do I link my Research Analysis Platform account to my AMS account?
What are my AMS credentials?
Can I access the Research Analysis Platform without an AMS account?
How do I obtain an AMS account?
I entered my valid AMS credentials but got an approval error.
Can I link multiple Research Analysis Platform accounts to the same AMS account?
Can I link multiple AMS accounts to the same Research Analysis Platform account?
Can I "unlink" my Research Analysis Platform account from my AMS account?
I previously linked my Research Analysis Platform account to my AMS account, but during a subsequent Research Analysis Platform login, I was asked to do so again.
Data Removal
How many projects should I create?
How long can each project live? Would it be removed if not used?
How to reactivate a project if I receive a warning email?
Projects and Files
What is a project?
How do I create a project?
What is an Access Application?
When making a project, I get the error "Application does not belong to this user or is not an approved application".
Can I have a project associated with multiple applications?
After a project has been created, can I change its application?
Can I have multiple projects associated with the same application?
Data has been dispensed to my project, but not all the data I am expecting is there
New Applications
Upgraded / Additional Data Requested
I created a project and chose to dispense data, but I don't see any data.
How long does it take for the data to appear in a new project?
Do I need to remain logged in while the data is being dispensed in a new project?
I created a project but it's stuck at "0%".
What kind of data is dispensed when I create a project?
Can I access and use Research Analysis Platform projects on the DNAnexus Platform?
What is a data-field?
What data-fields is my access application approved for?
What is in the "Bulk" folder?
How are folders determined for bulk fields?
How are filenames determined for bulk fields?
What is a participant EID?
How are EIDs used on the Research Analysis Platform?
For a given application, is the Research Analysis Platform using the same EIDs as data on UK Biobank's website?
I am interested in a specific participant EID. What files are available?
In the header of pVCF files, why are there samples named "W000001", "W000002", etc.?
Since the Research Analysis Platform pseudonymizes pVCF headers, does that mean that different researchers see different content when accessing the same file?
Are the headers of gVCF or CRAM files pseudonymized?
What is in the "Showcase metadata" folder?
Why are the number of instances in showcase are different from what are on the Research Analysis Platform?
The files under "Showcase metadata" are different from what's on the UK Biobank showcase website.
How did UK Biobank generate the bulk files? What instruments, assays or scientific workflows were used?
I found my bulk data-fields under the "Bulk" folder. Where are the rest of the non-bulk data-fields?
Can data be downloaded, exported or otherwise egressed out of the Research Analysis Platform?
Project Sharing and Cross-Project Collaboration
How do I see who has access to a project?
I just created a project, and the system says there are two users. Who is the other user?
Why is the user "ukb.robot" in my project?
Can I remove or alter the access of the user "ukb.robot" in my project?
How do I share a project with other users?
I tried sharing a project with someone and got an error.
Can I share a project with a group of people at once?
Can I share a project with Customer Support?
Can I share a project with UK Biobank staff?
Can I share just a subset of my data, instead of the whole project?
Are there any restrictions in copying data across projects?
Running Analyses
Which job priority do I choose for my analysis?
What compute instance types are available for running my analysis?
File Visualizations
How do I visualize a CRAM or VCF file using IGV.js?
Databases and Datasets
What is the database found in the root folder of the project?
What tables are included in the dispensed database?
How are column names determined for the dispensed database?
Data Releases
What is a data release version?
Where can I get full detail on data included in each data release?
I am about to make a new project and choose the option to dispense data. What data release version will my data correspond to?
I previously created a project. How is my project affected by new data releases?
The data in my project is not up to date. What can I do?
How can I find out what data release version was used, for an existing project?

I refreshed my project after a data release, but before the new data has been unrestricted. Could I update my data by doing the data dispensal again?
The scope of my UK Biobank access application has been expanded. Will new data automatically appear in my projects?
Can I just update selected data fields using the data update feature?
I just updated my project data. Why is my update progress stuck at 0%?
Will the data update affect ongoing jobs?
When doing a data update, how are previous artifacts (previously generated results, previously saved cohorts, dashboards, etc) affected?
AWS Credits Program
UK Biobank has approved my credits application, what should I do to receive my approved credits?
How do I create a grant org?
What should I do if I do not see an option to create a new org?
How do I use the grant org as a project's billing account?
When will I see credits in my Research Analysis Platform account?
I am running out of credits in the grant org, can I set up billing on this account and add my credit card?
I have been approved for enhanced credits. Do I have to create a new org to receive these credits?
Can I transfer funds from the grant org to my personal billing account?
Why is my personal billing account still being charged after I received grant funds and created a grant org?
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