Project Summary/Abstract New Mexico is an Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible and “majority-minority” state, with a population that is approximately 55% Hispanic, 10% American Indian/Alaska Native, and 28% White non- Hispanic. The University of New Mexico (UNM) is the flagship university for New Mexico, and one of very few Minority-Serving Institutions in the nation that is also classified as “Doctoral Extensive-very high research activity” by the Carnegie Classification. We propose to transform our current MD/PhD program into a robust LEAD MSTP through a combination of strongly supportive new leadership in the UNM Health Sciences Center (HSC), increased institutional financial support, and the proposed MSTP support. Our MD/PhD program has been highly successful in terms of inclusion of underrepresented trainees, degree completion, time to completion, successful matching in high quality residencies and fellowships, and attainment of academic careers. While program growth was limited over the last 20 years, the UNM HSC has committed to increasing the total program size to approximately 20 trainees within five years and 40 trainees within ten years. UNM HSC has recently undergone transformational leadership and institutional changes and has committed to furthering health equity through education, research, workforce, and healthcare delivery systems. The Program Mission is to provide outstanding training for the next generation of diverse clinician scientists. Through the following objectives, the UNM LEAD MSTP will grow and enhance the translational research ecosystem to improve satisfaction in training and persistence in clinician scientist careers. Objective 1: Recruit students from underrepresented groups so that UNM LEAD MSTP trainees better reflect the demographics of the region. Objective 2: Incorporate topics of developing innovation into the training programs. Objective 3: Build on the existing MD/PhD program to provide rigorous clinical training with exceptional predoctoral research training. Objective 4: Support and retain trainees throughout all stages of the program with a goal of >90% of matriculants completing the program. Objective 5: Expand alumni engagement efforts to expand the clinician scientist community at UNM and to support efficient transition to independent investigator positions. Our specific goal is yearly engagement with >80% of graduates. Objective 6: Ensure robust mechanisms for continuous program evaluation and improvement. This Multiple PI/PD proposal will build on strong predoctoral training in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program to incorporate training opportunities in Health Equity Sciences, Bioengineering, and Computational Sciences. We have developed a plan for sustainable program growth that requests three training slots in year 1, four training slots in years 2-3, and five training slots in years 4-5. We will provide a student-centered, integrated training experience that builds on past successes to develop exceptional, diverse clinician scientists who are prepared to address difficult issues in translational research and health equity.

Project Narrative We propose to transform our current MD/PhD program into a robust LEAD MSTP through a combination of strongly supportive new leadership in the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, increased institutional financial support, and the proposed MSTP support. This Multiple PI/PD proposal will build on strong predoctoral training in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program to incorporate training opportunities in Health Equity Sciences, Bioengineering, and Computational Sciences. The University of New Mexico LEAD MSTP will provide a student-centered, integrated training experience that builds on past successes to develop exceptional, diverse clinician scientists who are prepared to address difficult issues in translational research and health equity.