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The University of Chicago and the NCI are collaborating to establish the Genomic Data Commons (GDC). The GDC is a first-of-its-kind facility that will be the most comprehensive system to store data from NCI-funded research programs in a single repository, and harmonize them so they’re compatible. The GDC addresses a major issue in cancer research. A wealth of valuable tumor genome data has been collected by NCI-funded projects, but most researchers can’t make use of the material due to sheer size, disparate formats and dispersed storage locations. By bringing the data together in a single place, in a standardized format, the GDC will dramatically increase access to data for cancer researchers. Not only will this speed up the pace of cancer research, it will open new collaborations and serve as the foundation for future cloud-based research and open the door for new biomedical ecosystems such as personalized treatments for cancer.