The NIH said it will fund up to $24 million per year for four years to establish six to eight Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Centers of Excellence.

The centers will improve the ability of researchers to use large and complex datasets by developing and distributing innovative approaches, software and tools, as well as training students to use and develop these, NIH said.

The Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative was launched in December, mainly to support research, implementation and training in data science. And biomedical researchers aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit.

The centers aim to increase involvement from investigators outside traditional biomedical areas who are experienced with data science, NIH said.