7. Project Summary/Abstract Parasitic diseases caused by protozoans, helminths, and arthropod-vectored infectious diseases continue to plague much of the developing world. Even in industrialized nations, poorer communities are deeply affected by parasitology and arthropod-vectored infectious diseases, especially in the southern Gulf Coast region of the United States. What is needed to combat these devastating infections is a new generation of researchers focused on parasitology and arthropod-vectored infectious diseases; however, there are only a few NIH T32s focused on parasitology and vector-borne infectious diseases. One of these T32s is the Parasitology and Vector Biology (PVB) Training Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The PVB training program aims to attract and train the next generation of parasitology/vector biology investigators by providing opportunities to study significant, cutting-edge research problems associated with these important neglected tropical diseases. This goal will be accomplished by trainees acquiring a solid foundation of advanced knowledge through coursework and seminars, and then combining this knowledge with the latest technologies available in the laboratories of our 16 faculty trainers. Funding for this renewal is requested for 5 years to support 4 predoctoral trainees per year. After matriculating into one of three main graduate degree programs and successfully completing the first year of graduate school, PVB trainees will be appointed for 2 years. In addition to meeting their degree program requirements, trainees are required to complete courses in research ethics, rigor and reproducibility, and general parasitology, as well as complete an individual development plan, update it yearly, and present their research annually in the PVB seminar series. In an effort to increase the diversity of graduate students seeking advanced degrees in parasitology and vector biology, plans are described to identify and recruit under-represented minority (URM) students. This plan has been successfully active during the last two cycles of the PVB and has increased our number of URMs trainees in the program. Providing cutting-edge and well-rounded training in molecular parasitology and arthropod-vectored infectious diseases for predoctoral trainees has been and will continue to be our mission. Given the worldwide need to combat these infections, we must train the next generation to think broadly about parasite and arthropod-vectored diseases so that novel solutions to these devastating problems they cause can be found.