Abstract – Recruitment and Sample Collection Core B Core B will be responsible for recruitment and sample collection for the RESPOND cohort to provide the necessary data and biological specimens for all of the Projects. The Core will recruit the RESPOND cohort of 10,000 AA men with PCa diagnosed between 2015-2018 and provide survey data on social stress and linkage geocoded indicators for Project 1, saliva for germline DNA extraction for Project 2, and tumor tissue for Projects 3 and 4. The data and biospecimens obtained from this cohort will provide unprecedented insights into factors associated with PCa aggressiveness in AA men. More specifically, the Core will coordinate recruitment among 9 cancer registry sites in 7 states, providing instructions for sample selection to assure the necessary distribution of African American (AA) prostate cancer (PCa) cases by clinical characteristics and risk groups, the development and pretesting of a brief baseline survey in an optically scannable format, development and standardization of protocols for initial contact and follow-up with cases to meet response rate goals as well as a second contact to obtain saliva samples, HIPAA forms, and tissue blocks. Protocols for handling and delivery of saliva and tissue samples to Core C and data from the survey, registries and external linkages to Core D will also be coordinated. The Core will provide printed surveys, brochures and newsletters to the sites and contract for optical scanning of survey responses and external data linkages (for Project 1). The importance of centralizing the coordination of recruitment and sample collection by the Core is a critical need for the Program Project. With multiple recruitment sites, the standardization of protocols will be essential for assuring comparable data collection and recruitment across sites. Also, the Core will monitor the progress of the recruitment effort through weekly conference calls and will be able to identify problems and address them in a timely manner to assure that the goals of the Program Project are being met. In addition, the regular communication among the registry sites will provide information sharing on methods that can improve productivity for all of the sites. Thus, the Core will enhance efficiencies, standardization and data quality for the entire Program Project.