Despite great advances in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, and major advances in clinical care, major health challenges remain that negatively impact public health. Addressing these challenges requires that the biomedical field draw from the broadest talent pool available. Yet, analysis of the trends in the biomedical sciences workforce and trainee pool consistently demonstrate that specific racial and ethnic groups remain underrepresented in this arena relative to their representation within the population of the United States. Therefore, programs that address the discrepancy in participation rates between different racial, ethnic, gender and/or socioeconomic groups, and promote the engagement of the maximum number of talented individuals are needed. In this application, we propose the implementation of a research training program, under the umbrella of the Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD), to alleviate this discrepancy at our institution, the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. The mission of the proposed IMSD is to facilitate the excellence of a cadre of talented young scientists from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The program will achieve its mission through the development and deployment of: a series of academic and research activities that increase the excellence of participating students as biomedical scientists; professional development activities that prepare participants for success in a range of biomedical sciences- related careers; and the implementation of training workshops that shift trainee self-perception and mentor training capacity. These activities are expected to produce rigorously trained, successful young PhD scientists who will persist in biomedical sciences-related careers. The program will measure the success of its activities through the following metrics: 1) Increased student retention and completion rates. We expect to observe >90% retention through the successful completion of the Qualifying Examination at the end of year 2, and >85% successful completion of the PhD. These retention and completion rates will match or exceed the rates for the broader population of PhD trainees in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMMS. 2) Decreased time to degree completion. The current average time to completion for PhD trainees in the GSBS is 6.4 years. We expect the time to degree completion for IMSD trainees to be shorter than for the average GSBS student. During the initial reporting period, we anticipate that the average time to degree will be 6.2 years, with the goal of achieving an average time to completion of < 6 years. 3) Increased student publications. We expect that IMSD participants will, on average, publish 4 papers during graduate study, including 2 as first author. These metrics are in line with the output of the broader GSBS population. 4) Successful attainment of individual fellowships. We anticipate that 50% of I...