Project Summary/Abstract African Americans carry the highest cancer burden of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. The Research Education Core of this U54 proposal will provide research experiences and professional development activities in support of our long-term goal: the development of a workforce devoted to eliminating disparities in cancer prevalence, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. The Partners Cancer Research Education program, developed as a collaboration between UNC-Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UNC-Gillings School of Global Public Health, and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), is the vehicle for reaching this goal. Aim 1 is to provide NCCU undergraduates (Partners Fellows) with an intensive introduction to either basic cancer laboratory research or to public health cancer prevention research through academic year and summer research experiences. Aim 2 is to facilitate Fellows’ development of professional skills and an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of cancer research. This aim will be accomplished through two complimentary sub-aims: (a) Assist Fellows in developing the professional skills necessary to gain admission to competitive graduate and professional schools in the biomedical sciences or in public health and to successfully complete those programs; (b) Provide Fellows an interdisciplinary educational experience to build a basic understanding of research in public health, social, behavioral and biomedical sciences. While Aims 1 and 2 concentrate on.NCCU students, Aim 3 will facilitate summer cancer research experiences and professional development for UNC-CH students in laboratories at NCCU.