PROJECT SUMMARY Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) occurs in approximately 40% of infants born weighing less than 1000 grams and is associated with a 40% increase in the risk of life-long neurodevelopment disability. African-descent infants face at least double the risk of IVH when compared to their European-descent counterparts. While progress has been made in reducing the overall risk of IVH, it remains a common, and potentially devastating complication of prematurity, particularly for African-descent infants. Hampering the development of new neuroprotective strategies is an incomplete and inconsistent understanding of the risk factors for IVH. In this application, we introduce a focused investigation into the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors which contribute to a neonate’s “physiologic phenotype.” Our preliminary data suggest that African-descent infants are over-represented in the immature physiologic phenotype group and that this confers an increased risk of IVH. The results of this study will provide a rigorously developed platform for future investigation of targeted interventions for reduction of IVH in this patient population. The research training program outlined in this proposal provides for a robust education in health outcomes disparities, bioinformatics, risk prediction modeling, and the ethical conduct of research through formal and informal coursework. This comprehensive plan will form a firm educational foundation for the design and execution of high-quality research and map directly to the goals of the research plan.