July 1, 2026
Researchers with the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research (CCR) have likely already encountered the Posit ecosystem if they have spent any time writing R or Python in their work, perhaps through RStudio, a Shiny app built by a collaborator, or a shared analytical report. The full scope of what Posit offers, though, goes well beyond a familiar integrated development environment (IDE), and the NIH research community is increasingly positioned to take advantage of it.
What Is Posit?
Posit PBC (formerly RStudio) is the organization behind the most widely used open-source tools in data science, including the RStudio IDE, the tidyverse collection of R packages, Quarto, and Shiny. On the enterprise side, Posit offers a fully integrated professional platform built around three core products:
- Posit Workbench Advanced — A centralized, multi-user development environment supporting R, Python, JupyterLab, and VS Code, enabling researchers to work in their preferred language and IDE from a single, managed server.
- Posit Connect Advanced — A publishing and deployment platform where analysts can share Shiny applications, Quarto reports, Jupyter notebooks, dashboards, and automated workflows directly with colleagues — no web development experience required.
- Posit Package Manager — A curated, internal repository for R and Python packages that ensures reproducibility, security, and compliance by giving teams control over which package versions are available in their environment.
Together, these three products form a cohesive data science infrastructure that takes a researcher from exploratory analysis all the way through to a polished, shareable scientific product.
Why It Matters for the CCR Community
Posit was selected as a valuable enterprise data science platform for NIH because it is the only commercially supported, fully integrated suite that is purposefully built around R and Python, the two primary languages that our researchers rely on daily for statistical analysis, epidemiological modeling, and bioinformatics pipelines. Critically, this is not a novel or untested choice within the federal research enterprise.
Posit tools are already actively deployed across multiple NIH Institutes and HHS Operating Divisions. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) Bioinformatics and Scientific Programming Core maintains a live Posit Connect Server to publish interactive research applications and build reproducible analytical workflows. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Bioinformatics Portal leverages R Shiny applications to support reproducible data science workflows and researcher-facing analytical tools. And at the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), the National Syndromic Surveillance Program relies on the full Posit suite, which includes Workbench, Connect, and Package Manager, to underpin public health surveillance and response efforts nationwide.
What This Means for You
For CCR bioinformatics researchers, this investment means access to a shared, scalable infrastructure that reduces the friction between writing code and communicating results. The Posit platform is designed to support the work at every stage, whether you are building an interactive visualization of genomic data, automating a recurring analysis pipeline, or collaborating with a team across different coding environments.
As adoption grows across the NCI CCR community, opportunities for training, shared resources, and peer learning are expanding alongside it. The Bioinformatics Training and Education Program (BTEP) will continue to offer R programming trainings and resources aligned with these tools. Regularly check the BTEP website or stay tuned for future bulletins for information on upcoming workshops, office hours, and hands-on sessions designed to help you get the most out of the Posit ecosystem!
Accessing Posit Resources
NIH researchers can learn more about accessing Posit Enterprise products, including information on the new unrestricted licenses, by visiting the ISDP SharePoint Posit page. Researchers are also encouraged to join the NIH Posit Community of Practice through the General | NIH Posit Community site to connect with colleagues, access onboarding resources, and collaborate with fellow Posit users across NIH. NCI users who need assistance getting started with the Posit products can contact the NCI Posit points of contact: Janelle Cortner (janelle.cortner@nih.gov) or George Zaki (george.zaki@nih.gov).
Interested in learning more? Reach out to the BTEP team (ncibtep@nih.gov) or visit the BTEP website to explore upcoming events.
– Taylor Warthen, PhD (NIH CIT)
This topic spotlight was authored on July 1, 2026 and reflects the information available at that time. As content may evolve, please contact us at ncibtep@nih.gov to obtain the most current information.