PROJECT SUMMARY The District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR) is one of 19 NIH-funded CFARs across the United States that have the shared goal of supporting and promoting multi-disciplinary HIV research at their institutions. In 2021 at the request of NIH, the DC CFAR developed and coordinated the “CFAR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Pathway Initiative” (CDEIPI) to widen the pathway to careers in HIV science for young scholars from groups underrepresented in HIV science and medicine with an emphasis on racial and ethnic minorities. With supplemental funding from the NIH to support CDEIPI for three consecutive years from 2021- 2023, CDEIPI grew rapidly with CFARs developing a variety of innovative programs including didactic training, mentored research experiences, and summer residential programs. Over the initial 2.5 years of the program, there were >1,300 applicants and >600 participants in 39 CDEIPI programs guided by 206 mentors. In December 2023, the NIH issued a limited competition funding opportunity to enable CFARs to incorporate pathway programs into the developmental work of the CFAR program rather than through annual supplements. This proposal then would support the transition of the CDEIPI CC to the “CFAR Pathway Program Coordinating Center” (CPPCC) which would be incorporated into the DC CFAR Administrative Core. The Specific Aims of the CPPCC are to coordinate CFAR pathway programs for students from groups underrepresented in the HIV scientific workforce, support a national network of HIV scientists and educators to develop pathway programs, and rigorously monitor and evaluate short- and long-term pathway program outcomes to inform best training and mentoring practices. The CPPCC will include an Administrative Core for overall coordination and as the point of contact with NIH, a Program Core to identify best practices and common challenges for CFAR pathway programs, and an Evaluation Core to coordinate the monitoring and evaluation of CFAR pathway programs. The added value of CFAR pathway programs is that they provide HIV research and training opportunities to engage the next generation of diverse students in HIV scientific careers who can then contribute to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.