New research environment gives approved partners secure, governed access to analysis tools and compute capabilities for more than 550,000 linked clinicogenomic records
SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Helix®, the leading enterprise genomics company, today announced a partnership with Databricks, the data and AI company, to launch Helix Research Workspaces, a new Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for population-scale clinicogenomic research. Built natively on the Databricks Data + AI platform, the new Research Workspaces gives approved Helix research partners secure, governed access to compute, storage and analysis tools for more than 550,000 GenoSphere™ clinicogenomic records. GenoSphere combines Exome+® genomic data with an average of more than 13 years of electronic health records, enriched with medical and pharmacy claims.
Population-scale genomic research often requires specialized technical expertise and substantial effort to assemble data and establish an analysis environment. These demands can limit both the pace of discovery and who can participate.
The new Research Workspaces TRE brings data and analysis tools into an easy-to-use governed application so researchers can spend less time preparing infrastructure and more time testing hypotheses, interpreting results and building on existing findings. It’s designed to support investigating potential targets, discovering biomarkers and characterizing patient populations using GenoSphere datasets.
Key capabilities include:
- Population-scale genomic analysis: With a custom genomic analysis toolkit designed to support large-scale genomic research.
- AI-assisted coding: A built-in coding assistant to help researchers develop and refine analysis code more efficiently.
- Collaborative research workspaces: Project-based notebooks and workspaces that allow researchers to collaborate with data access controls and monitoring built in.
- Integrated oversight: Real-time visibility into analysis progress and compute costs to help researchers to monitor projects within the environment.
“What excites me most is the potential to bring data, compute and AI agents together to make science faster, less expensive and accessible to more people,” said James Lu, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Helix. “With the Research Workspaces TRE, we want researchers who haven’t had access to specialized bioinformatics support to ask new questions, test ideas and replicate findings. Expanding who can participate in discovery is just as important as accelerating the work itself.”
Helix found that researchers using Research Workspaces TRE had lower compute costs than when they performed similar work on a different platform. Furthermore, AI capabilities can cut down the total time to answer significantly, empowering teams to test additional hypotheses and examine the robustness of their research findings.
“Helix is expanding access to population-scale clinicogenomic research to advance precision medicine,” said Sarah Branfman, Global VP of ISV at Databricks. “With Databricks’ ISV Built On program, Helix is bringing clinical and genomic data together in a governed and scalable environment, helping research partners accelerate insight, personalize care, and improve patient outcomes.”
The launch builds on Helix’s broader investment in research and discovery with a new centralized platform with other built in applications including partner operations and more. Earlier this year, Helix launched Helix Cohort Builder, which enables researchers to build targeted clinical and genomic cohorts through a graphical interface or AI-assisted natural language search. The new Trusted Research Environment builds on those capabilities for deeper population analysis.
To learn more about Helix Research Workspaces, visit https://www.helix.com/company/explorer/research-workspaces.
About Helix:
Helix is the leading enterprise genomics platform. The company transforms health systems and enables life science organizations to leverage the power of genomics across their enterprise, creating strategic value and fueling future growth. The Helix Research Network® – the largest precision health network in the world – accelerates genomic discoveries and translates them into real-world clinical impact. Learn more at www.helix.com.
Helix Media Contact:
helix@highwirepr.com
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