RECRUITMENT CORE ABSTRACT The Recruitment Core will ensure that the NYCenter for Minority Health, Equity and Social Justice (NYC- MHESJ) recruits and hires committed health disparities and clinical/health service researchers to support the New York City RCMI Center for Minority Health, Equity and Social Justice’s research vision of developing real solutions to conditions disproportionally affecting minority populations. The Recruitment Core will leverage institutional funds, the Investigator Development, and the Administrative Cores of this proposal to advance health disparities research at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine (CUNY MED) and the City College of New York (CCNY). The Recruitment Core will be implemented through the following specific aims: Specific Aim 1. Recruit two independent mid-career or senior scientists to expand health disparities research and provide additional mentorship to Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs). Specific Aim 2. Enhance the competitiveness of junior faculty and promote their success as independent investigators for the NYCenter for Minority Health Equity and Social Justice (NYC- MHEJ). Retention of the recruited faculty will be supported by careful attention to and support for their research, course/teaching relief for the first two years as their research programs become established and leveraging funds from this Core. The senior faculty recruits will also benefit from a robust Research Capacity Core, including a Research Planning and Analytics Resource and a strong Community Engagement Core. As a result, we are confident that we will recruit faculty members of the highest caliber who will be attracted by our mission and who are committed to joining us to address health disparities research, enhance the research competitiveness of junior investigators, and enhance health disparities research across varied disciplines throughout the CUNY MED and CCNY Campus.