COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CORE-ABSTRACT The NYC-MHESJ Community Engagement Core (CEC) plays a crucial role in addressing health disparities within the diverse landscape of New York City, with a specific focus on racial and ethnic minorities residing in underserved communities. Guided by community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles, the CEC collaborates seamlessly with a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians, and community organizations, to actively contribute to reducing health gaps. The Specific Aims of the Core are: Specific Aim 1: The NYC-MHESJ CEC will be a trusted resource for NYC communities to address their unique health challenges/disparities. By engaging new communities, fostering reciprocal relationships, and providing mechanisms for communities to independently address health issues, the CEC actively supports and advances the broader goals of NYC-MHESJ. This approach ensures that the collaborative efforts go beyond the grant period, creating sustainable solutions and addressing the unique health challenges diverse communities face. Specific Aim 2: The NYC-MHESJ CEC will train and equip biomedical researchers to conduct HDR, emphasizing community engagement. Through a comprehensive seminar series, the CEC equips scientists, particularly NYC-MHESJ investigators, with the tools necessary to enhance community participation and effectively address health disparities. The CEC's strategy includes simultaneous training for community members and researchers and building strong relationships extending from hypothesis generation to dissemination. By integrating community perspectives throughout the research process, the CEC mentors investigators, enhancing their Community-Engaged Research (CEnR) skills across disciplines. Specific Aim 3: The NYC-MHESJ CEC will contribute to the generation of new knowledge in the science of Community Engaged Health Disparities Research (CEnHDR). The CEC actively facilitates CEnHDR initiatives, collects data on engagement processes and outcomes, and refines methods to understand its impact on research, researchers, and communities.