7. Project Summary There continues to be a documented dire national need for veterinary specialists trained in biomedical research. Furthermore, veterinary researchers play a key role in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research activities since they naturally bridge basic and clinical research. To address this training need, faculty in the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) established the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Training Program (IBRTP) for veterinary students in 2009 with funds committed to the program from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the T35 was first funded in 2010. The objective of this training program is to provide interdisciplinary biomedical research experience specifically targeted to veterinary students with a strong interest in a research career. The training program also serves as a bridge to foster new interdisciplinary research collaborations amongst faculty members. Trainees complete a 3-month research experience in the laboratories of faculty members drawn from nine disciplines. Trainees are mentored by two faculty members from different disciplines to create and execute an interdisciplinary project. The 36 training faculty members participating in this program are well funded and have a strong training track record. The disciplines selected are areas of strength at NC State; cellular and molecular biology, neurosciences, genetics and genomics, infectious diseases, disease modeling and epidemiology, regenerative medicine, gastrointestinal physiology, computational biology, and pharmacology and toxicology. Research projects emphasize integration of disciplines to create a novel approach to a biomedical research problem. Projects combining clinical and basic science disciplines are given priority. Trainees will be veterinary students in their first or second year who are building on prior research experience. A total of 119 NIH funded trainees have completed the program. We request in this renewal application that the number of NIH funded training slots be maintained at 10 per year. Program requirements include: 1) a weekly Principles of Comparative Biomedical Sciences seminar series; 2) a seminar series on the Principles of Interdisciplinary Collaboration; 3) Scientific Communication workshop; 4) training in responsible conduct of research, research rigor, and data science and statistics; and 5) participation in the Veterinary Scholars Symposium and the CVM Research Symposium.