PROJECT SUMMARY – UCSF IRACDA Scholars Program The need for increased representation of a diverse workforce in biomedical research at the academic level is clear and well-documented. This renewal application requests resources to continue our four-year Scholars training program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in partnership with San Francisco State University (SFSU). The program's goal, which began in 2007, is to increase the number of highly trained, successfully funded, and sustainable research scientists who will perform high-level laboratory and teaching and increase the diversity of younger trainees to improve our understanding of health-related science. UCSF has partnered with SFSU to build a program that provides comprehensive training while fostering impactful exchanges between Scholars, Faculty, and SFSU students. The critical elements of our training program are (1) a mentored research experience, (2) a mentored teaching experience at SFSU, (3) monthly career development workshops, (4) cross-disciplinary scientific/mentoring experiences, and (5) grant writing workshop. The program's centerpiece is 4-years of training, with the initial three years covered by the training grant and the last year covered by the PI funds or Independent Awards. Most training (75%) is devoted to an intense research experience. The remaining effort is dedicated to teaching and mentoring experiences with underrepresented (UR) undergraduate students at SFSU. Our exceptionally well-qualified research and teaching mentors have committed their support to the scholars. Internal and external Advisors, as well as periodic formal evaluations, will be a critical part of the continued excellence and achievement of the stated goals of the Program. Each Scholar is expected to interact with a team of Faculty Research Mentors and Teaching Mentors during their training, meeting regularly to assist them in setting and implementing their training and career goals. Our program has a strong track history of recruiting exceptional scholars from diverse backgrounds. Of the 60 current and past scholars, 85% are UR. Of the 49 Scholars who have completed their training at UCSF, they have produced an average of 3.3 peer-review publications (0-16 range). More impressive, 59% remain in academia, with several holding tenure track faculty positions at R1 research-intensive institutions such as UCSF, Columbia, Brandeis, Brown, Vanderbilt, UT Dallas, UCSD, U of Arkansas, SDSU, SFSU, and SJSU. In the last funding cycle, Scholars increased external funding by 700%, obtaining ~$750K of NIH or Private Foundation awards. We believe the Program’s strong outcomes data, the collaborative research-intensive training environment at UCSF, and the well-established and fruitful interactions between UCSF and SFSU provide a compelling rationale for renewing and expanding this unique training opportunity to train and diversify the next generation of leaders in biomedical science.