PROJECT SUMMARY The University of Rhode Island proposes to supplement the URI ESTEEMED program to improve the training outcomes of a diverse cohort of students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue advanced education and degrees in bioengineering and related disciplines. The goals for this supplement are (1) to enhance the training outcomes of URI ESTEEMED Scholars by expanding the trainee cohort to improve peer-to-peer networking, providing additional one-on-one academic support for trainees, and increasing the opportunity for near-peer mentorship, and (2) to strengthen mentor training in the research environment at URI by creating a formal Inclusive Mentor Training Program, providing intensive mentorship training opportunities for faculty and graduate student mentors, and increasing the number of training facilitators in Rhode Island. To achieve these goals, the URI ESTEEMED program will recruit two additional students per cohort, add two undergraduate near- peer mentors during the academic year, retain a full-time graduate assistant throughout the calendar year and provide additional support to the Program Coordinator, PI, and Co-PI. Additionally, URI ESTEEMED personnel will complete facilitator training in collaboration with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) for the Entering Mentoring and Culturally Aware Mentoring curricula, allowing them to serve as facilitators for these trainings, and by providing these training opportunities to faculty mentors. These efforts will be assessed through qualitative surveys conducted by the Program Coordinator and through the established CIMER assessment platforms. In recognizing the challenges facing underrepresented students during the college transition, this administrative supplement will thereby provide the needed support to retain trainees and improve the development of soft and technical skills necessary for conducting research in bioengineering and related fields.