PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are uniquely positioned to prepare the next generation of cutting-edge researchers from underrepresented minority groups, but faculty at MSIs still face several barriers in securing NIH grant funding for their research. Programs such as the Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) are aimed at enhancing infrastructure at MSIs to build and sustain robust research programs, yet persistent barriers to obtaining NIH grants at MSIs remain. Addressing such barriers (e.g., insufficient number of mentors, limited opportunities for collaboration, under-utilization of career development awards) is imperative if we are to build a more diverse biomedical research workforce. To tackle some of these barriers, we formed a partnership with 9 MSIs and created a program called Leading Emerging And Diverse Scholars to success (LEADS). The purpose of LEADS was to help launch the research careers of postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty (hereafter Scholars) with a one-year fellowship where Scholars received professional skills training such as grant development, team science, and developing research careers with the ultimate goal of Scholars submitting successful grants. Over the next five years, we will offer a two-year fellowship to Scholars, focusing on innovative new components based on feedback from the Scholars and the literature. These include personalizing the learning and making it experiential, enhancing mentoring, leveraging the benefits of team science to form research teams, and using the LEADS alumni network to serve as leaders and near-peer mentors to help Scholars succeed. We believe these elements will increase the productivity of the Scholars by addressing their unique individual needs and providing opportunities for success. In addition, we plan to focus on building sustainability at the MSIs so that the best practices of LEADS can be institutionalized at the partnering sites and offered across the RCMI network.