The NC KUH TRIO Networking Core is designed to build a pipeline of talented, diverse trainees who will contribute to KUH related fields across NC institutions of higher learning. We aim to provide support to this pipeline as part of a dynamic and cohesive cohort along their training pathway towards successful and rewarding careers in research. By connecting programmatic and institutional partners across 3 leading North Carolina (NC) biomedical research universities: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, and Duke University, as well as from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, NC Agricultural & Technical State University, Winston-Salem State University and NC Central University, the TRIO Networking Core is maximally poised to reach a broad spectrum of trainees from diverse personal and training backgrounds. Networking Core activities will connect early-stage trainees to peers, near-peer trainees, and senior mentors, which will be enhanced through the integration of social media and virtual learning platforms in addition to traditional in-person group learning opportunities, conference meetings, and community outreach events. Together, these activities will support the TRIO Networking Core’s three objectives to: 1) organize a pipeline with a leadership structure built to recruit and support development of the diverse workforce needed to mirror the communities most impacted by disparate outcomes in KUH-related diseases, leveraging existing, and creating new KUH-specific programs, especially with our HBCU TRIO institutions; 2) support the talent of our trainees as emerging interdisciplinary leaders across all levels of KUH-related research by equipping them with the skills required to navigate the changing world of scientific discourse and engagement; and 3) enhance retention of trainees across the KUH pipeline through community building activities. Close collaboration with the TRIO Professional Development, Training (TL1), and Administrative Cores will provide resources and infuse the Networking Core with the mentors and tools to build the bridges for pipeline trainees and maintain an open gateway of support for the next generation of researchers. These efforts support the overall goal of nurturing fully prepared researchers who will advance KUH research and advance our goal of developing a workforce that is far more representative of the communities most heavily impacted by disparate KUH outcomes.