PROJECT SUMMARY The aims of the DC CFAR Pathway Program are designed to increase the diversity in HIV research by providing an opportunity to high school and undergraduate students to participate in research and developing a sense of self-efficacy and community that will help to retain these students in HIV research and to incorporate diversity in all facets of their future academic careers. The DC CFAR Developmental Core promotes and supports innovative, collaborative, and multidisciplinary HIV research through a dynamic mentoring program that supports the career progression of early stage, new, and transitioning HIV investigators with an emphasis on those from gender, racial, and ethnic groups who are underrepresented in the HIV research field. The current revision proposal to include the CFAR Pathway Program within the Developmental Core, enhances our existing aims by prioritizing high school (HS), undergraduate (UG) and graduate students in mentored research and providing a holistic pre-professional approach to build a sense of community by working together within our CFAR and within our broader community through outreach and volunteer activities. The first phase of our program is focused on recruiting and supporting high school and undergraduate students in mentored research. Professional and community development will be an integral part of the training paradigm with near-peer mentoring lead by graduate students being a focal point of the program. As the program develops, the graduate students will take more of a leadership role. We have also implemented, in conjunction with UCSF and Providence Pathway programs a mechanism for Scholar networking on the national level. The long-term goal of the program is to expand the recruitment and support mechanisms to include graduate and post-doctoral fellows in ways that complement our current efforts in support of Early-Stage Investigators (ESI) in HIV research. To achieve our current goal we will address the following Specific Aims: 1. Develop a pathway into HIV research for HS students by providing them research engagement opportunities that promote diversity. 2. Provide UG students an HIV research training and mentored support program that promotes diversity so that they may transition into doctoral and professional degree programs. 3. Implement a pathway program that adopts a holistic pre-professional approach to develop research and leadership skills for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from groups underrepresented in the HIV field. This program brings together a comprehensive program of research, community and professional development to introduce and encourage students to pursue HIV research as their academic career. The long-term goal is to build upon this program on a yearly basis to recruit new cohorts, provide multi-year support to our UG students and expand financial support to recruit and retain URM graduate and post-doctoral fellows in HIV research.