Research Education Core Key Personnel: Lauren M. Aleksunes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Core Lead Debra L. Laskin, Ph.D., Co-Lead Diane E. Heck, Ph.D., Collaborator Joshua P. Gray, Ph.D., Collaborator Ned Heindel, Ph.D., Collaborator Ray Rancourt, Ph.D., Collaborator Core Summary/Abstract The Rutgers CounterACT Center has established a comprehensive, multidisciplinary Research Education Core directed at high school students, undergraduates, professional and graduate students, postdoctoral trainees and new and established investigators. The primary functions of the Research Education Core are to 1) provide multidisciplinary short-term education for technicians, professional or graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and/or established investigators, within and beyond the CounterACT Center, 2) increase the number and capabilities of a diverse toxicological workforce addressing chemical threats, 3) evaluate and disseminate CounterACT teaching materials, trainee accomplishments, and assessment metrics to other universities and biomedical researchers. These functions are achieved through seminars, symposia, coursework, remote education programs, thesis projects, research fellowships, and directed laboratory modules. Training in the responsible conduct of research and rigor and reproducibility is integrated into short-term and long-term training programs hosted by the Core. The leadership team of the Education Core is comprised of faculty members spanning 4 institutions who have expertise in mentoring, training program management, toxicology education, online learning, and development of curricula. The Education Core draws upon the resources, infrastructure, and expertise of faculty appointed across the four academic institutions and draws strength from additional institutional grants including UL1, T32, P30, and R25 NIH grants from NIEHS and NCATS. In the prior funding period, we had outstanding success in recruiting trainees from underrepresented backgrounds to Core programs. By building a pipeline of training activities over the past 10 years, we have retained talented students from diverse groups within the field of toxicology. In the renewal application, we propose to enhance training opportunities for our current trainee pool, expand the training of CounterACT members in team science and communicating science, and host hands-on workshops and bootcamps to the broader applied toxicology community. Emphasis will also be placed on iterative assessment of activities using a Logic Model, dissemination of program curricula and outcomes, and tracking of participants in the Education Core. The Education Core has made tremendous achievements in the prior funding period that will be augmented and expanded over the next 5 years.