Center Overview: Project Summary/Abstract The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center (VDRC), in its 48th continuous year of operation as a NIH- sponsored Diabetes Center, seeks to continue its efforts to facilitate the discovery, application, and translation of scientific knowledge to improve the care of patients with diabetes. The VDRC is an interdisciplinary program involving 142 participating faculty distributed among 15 departments in two schools and three colleges at Vanderbilt and neighboring Meharry Medical College. Because of the VDRC and the environment it creates, VDRC investigators have made important scientific contributions related to diabetes, obesity, and metabolism. The VDRC consists of: 1) Administrative Component that coordinates the scientific, organizational, enrichment, training, and outreach activities; For example, the VDRC established the National Diabetes Research Center Virtual Seminar Series early in the COVID crisis and this is now part of efforts by 15 Diabetes Research Centers to promote communication and interaction. 2) Biomedical Research Component that recruits and selects VDRC investigators and supervises the research cores that facilitate and enhance their research; 3) Pilot and Feasibility Program that facilitates the development of new investigators into independent scientists and encourages scientists in other fields to enter the field of diabetes research; and 4) National Enrichment Program in which the VDRC serves as the coordinating and organizing center for the NIDDK Medical Student Research Program which has allowed more than 1000 medical students from more than 140 US medical and osteopathic schools to conduct diabetes-related research at one of 16 NIH-supported Diabetes Research Centers. As part of its efforts to promote the next generation of scientists, the VDRC also enhances the efforts of 6 diabetes-related training grants, four of which are supported/funded by NIDDK The NIH support for the VDRC is greatly amplified by: 1) Vanderbilt’s sustained commitment to provide research space and additional financial resources; 2) a diverse, comprehensive array of research core services at Vanderbilt, which allows NIH funds to target unique, diabetes-related research cores; and 3) collaborative efforts with other NIH-funded research Centers at Vanderbilt. The VDRC is evolving and dynamic, including additions to its investigator base, expansion of VDRC research areas, expanded focus on clinical and translational research, realignment and evolution of core support to provide unique, indispensable core services, and service as a national resource for the diabetes research community.