PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – Developmental Core The Developmental Core advances the scientific mission of CAPS by fostering the growth of trainees and scientists and by cultivating excellence in influential, groundbreaking, and timely HIV science. The landscape of the HIV epidemic is changing rapidly, and there is a critical need for multidisciplinary research to optimize recent and forthcoming advances and to address new challenges in HIV prevention. Social and behavioral research is paramount to the development, evaluation, and implementation of cutting-edge approaches to preventing HIV and its consequences. In this innovative iteration of CAPS, the Developmental Core will coordinate a wide range of resources and services that will (1) Stimulate creative, timely, and rigorous multidisciplinary research; (2) Cultivate the capacity and diversity of investigators; and (3) Nurture a high-impact scientific environment. Key activities proposed in this application include the coordination of our existing successful programs, including the Innovative Grants Program, our internal peer review system, and our rigorous training programs. We also introduce a new grant writing incubator program, propose a deepening our mentor training program, and have centered many of our core activities on our new cross- cutting themes of multiplicative and co-occurring factors and HIV-related health systems. We will continue to work closely with all other cores to ensure that the Developmental Core's resources are easily accessible and optimally utilized by a spectrum of stakeholders— academic and community institutions, individual investigators, and policymakers—within and outside of UCSF. We will prioritize core activities focused on the two identified priority themes, while continuing to cultivate the wide range of pioneering, investigator-driven, entrepreneurial HIV research that is a hallmark of CAPS's successful history.