7. Project Summary/Abstract Duke University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically Black institution, are applying for support of a 4th BIRCWH scholar to join our 3 current BIRCWH scholars. Our program is grateful for the funding that Congress allocated for this purpose (NOT-OD-22-180 Notice of Special Interest: Administrative Supplement to BIRCWH). The 4th scholar we selected is a woman from a group underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences as outlined in NOT-OD-20-031 Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity. The Duke/NCCU BIRCWH is a strong, vibrant program that has the leadership and institutional commitment required for continued success. Our partnership, now in its 21st year, provides the foundation for a program that encompasses interdisciplinary research, structured mentoring, and individualized career development for junior faculty, with three major goals: (1) Develop highly skilled, innovative researchers who use interdisciplinary approaches to investigate women’s health and sex/gender influences across the lifespan; (2) Foster diversity in women’s health research and advance health disparities research affecting women’s health by identifying and recruiting scholars from diverse backgrounds and (3) Enable and equip BIRCWH scholars to lead interdisciplinary teams of scientists, and to become the mentors and leaders of the future. Adding the 4th scholar to our group of 3 recently selected scholars results in a very diverse group of scholars with 3 of the 4 scholars from groups underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences as outlined in NOT-OD- 20-031. Drawing on the breadth of expertise at our two universities, we have the capacity to advance the career development of scholars interested in basic, clinical, or health services research across a broad range of fields. Our scholars learn to integrate approaches to focus on women’s health and sex/gender differences in human disease. Scholars’ interdisciplinary mentoring teams include a mentor from our core group of nationally known senior investigators from Duke and NCCU, with others added to maximize interdisciplinary expertise and collaborations. While our program usually spans 2 to 5 years, depending on each scholar’s career development needs, the 4th scholar is funded for 2 years and will receive additional regulatory and research coordinator support to finish her project under this accelerated timeline. Scholars perform intense, hands-on research; course work; and training in grant writing, health disparities, team science, SABV and RCR. Each scholars’ progress is monitored by the Leadership Team and the Internal Advisory Committee (IAC). The program is assessed and advised by the IAC and an External Advisory Committee. At the completion of the program, scholars will become leaders and mentors themselves. External evaluations of our program and scholars are performed by an independent evaluator in the D...