PROJECT SUMMARY The mission of the University of California Los Angeles-California Institute of Technology Medical Scientist Training Program (UCLA-Caltech MSTP) is to recruit and train a diverse and accomplished pool of dedicated physician-scientists advancing scientific and clinical discoveries, and driving technological innovations to the benefit of human health and disease outcomes. The program proposes to (1) recruit gifted students with a passion for scientific knowledge and unwavering commitment to research, medicine, service, and leadership; (2) provide an inclusive, safe and supportive training environment where can trainees flourish academically and scientifically in their area of research interest; (3) provide strong individualized mentorship to support the personal and professional development of trainees of diverse backgrounds and career goals; 4) address disparities in medicine and science through outreach, recruitment, training, and mentorship of individuals from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in medicine (URM). These goals will be accomplished within a program framework of strong faculty and peer mentorship, didactic and experiential learning, and professional development integrated with medical training in the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and doctoral research in graduate programs at UCLA and Caltech. Trainees will be inculcated with the skills and attitudes needed to pursue meaningful and impactful research in a safe, ethically responsible, rigorous, and collaborative manner. Structured faculty and peer mentorship and programming including the MSTP Tutorial, MSTP Annual Research Conference, Physician-Scientist Grand Rounds, Clinical Practicum during Research, Longitudinal Clinical Preceptorship, and further program-sponsored and student-led activities have been designed to burnish trainees’ identities as physician-scientists and prepare them to pursue diverse careers in the biomedical research workforce. Program initiatives and a dedicated and collaborative team of faculty directors, administrators, and student leaders have resulted in outstanding training outcomes over the past decade as the program has substantially increased trainee diversity and overall numbers (118 current trainees nearing a steady state goal of 120). The current 5-year proposal requests 30 NIH-funded positions with the following intended training outcomes: 1) acquired knowledge, skills, experiences and attitudes leading to successful physician-scientist careers impacting a wide range of health-related research needs; 2) established scientific expertise and published rigorous and impactful research work guided by strong mentorship; 3) thriving ,resilient and diverse graduates retained in the physician-scientist pipeline through professional and career development; 4) timely completion of training in 8 years or less facilitated by curricular innovations that have further streamlined dual degree training; and 5) recruitment of a diverse and...