U-RISE at the University of North Dakota This application seeks funding for an Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U- RISE) program at the University of North Dakota (UND). The goal for this program is to increase the number of undergraduate, underrepresented honor students in the biomedical or bio-behavioral sciences who will go on to successfully complete doctoral study and begin a research career. UND has high numbers of underrepresented students enrolled in the biomedical sciences. However, a paucity of underrepresented ethnically prepared investigators exists. Given that no U-RISE program resides in any of the Northern Plains states, the need for the U-RISE program at UND is profound. The objectives for the U-RISE research training program are: 1) Enroll a cohort of 4 U-RISE eligible trainees for each of the sophomore, junior, and senior year classes in the UND U-RISE program in each year of the program; 2) Sixteen (80%) senior U-RISE trainees will graduate with a B.S. degree from the UND U-RISE program within the 2024 to 2028 timeframe; and 3) 60% of the U-RISE trainees will matriculate into MS, PhD or MD/PhD programs within three years of graduating from UND with a BS degree; and 50% of these students will go on to earn a PhD or MD/PhD. Culturally responsive recruitment efforts will be used to generate a high-quality pool of perspective U-RISE trainees. After selection, U-RISE will provide the trainees with a structured research training program that includes: 1) Training in the Responsible Conduct for Research and Rigor and Reproducibility of Research; 2) Coursework in the Utilization of Library Resources; Scientific Writing and Research Presentation Techniques, Computation Methods and Statistics; 3) Mentored research experiences through matched placements in investigators’ research laboratories; 4) Intense Summer Research Experiences in a major research lab with a T 32 equivalent research program; 5) Research-focused service learning opportunities (e.g. Science Cafes or Science Fair judging for middle school and high school students); 6) Training and opportunities for scholarly presentations or publications; 7) Seminars on gaining entrance into graduate studies and research courses; and 8) Planning for a Research Career. Students will meet weekly and as needed with advisors and research mentors. It is expected that U-RISE trainees will become contributing members of their research groups as they begin to be groomed for research careers. All programmatic, mentor, and mentee activities will be evaluated with reports provided to the Advisory Committee for determination of program improvement and future planning. Our goal is to have 60% of U-RISE trainees matriculate into a MS, PhD or MD/PhD program, and 50% of these students will graduate and pursue research careers.