PROJECT SUMMARY Arkansas is a small and rural state with significant health disparities. The Translational Research Institute (TRI) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has radically transformed our environment for clinical and translational research (CTR) in Arkansas (AR). Our current Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) allowed us to develop team-based, practical solutions to the health challenges of rural and underrepresented communities in AR. We have developed new cross-disciplinary teams that are incorporating community-based research principles into their research, and we have expanded our geographic footprint through the development of the UAMS Rural Research Network. In response to the evolving priorities of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), we will now pivot toward a greater emphasis on translational science (TS) by integrating the scientific and operational principles of TS within the context of our translational research. Our vision is to develop and test TS innovations that will drive real world solutions to enhance health equity for rural and underrepresented populations. In collaboration with our participating and collaborating partner institutions, we will develop and test translational science (TS) innovations to facilitate and amplify our translational research (TR) approaches to address the considerable health challenges of rural and underrepresented populations in AR. Over the next seven years, we will 1) Develop, demonstrate, and disseminate innovations that cultivate TS at multiple stages of the clinical and translational research spectrum; 2) Launch and expand innovative research programs across institutions and communities that reduce health disparities and promote health equity; 3) Accelerate workflows to support clinical research that is high priority and/or meets urgent national needs; and 4) Ignite innovations in training a skillful, cross-disciplinary, and diverse TS workforce. As a small state with significant health care disparities, we are confident that our collective efforts with our partners, collaborators, stakeholders, and communities will produce new solutions for advancing the health of rural and underrepresented populations in AR. We will share our innovations broadly with the CTSA Consortium to support the dissemination of our TS innovations and to improve the health of individuals throughout the US.