Project Summary/Abstract – Community Liaison and Recruitment Core The Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) is a collaborative of four unique Southern institutions with complementary strengths: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Morehouse School of Medicine, Tuskegee University, and The University of Alabama. The primary objectives of the Community Liaison and Recruitment Core (CLRC) are to (1) educate, train, and mentor Scientists in theory- based approaches to engaging older African Americans (AAs) in health-related research, (2) assist RCMAR Scientists in recruiting older AAs into their research studies, and (3) build a sustainable infrastructure that will generate and disseminate new knowledge regarding the science of recruitment and retention. Our approach to recruitment and retention draws upon research that addresses the role of culture in promoting health among older AAs. Older AAs rely, to a greater extent, on their minority segregated communities, their cultural values, and their kinship systems to receive health information. In addition to family and extended kinship networks, older AAs place high value on their religious beliefs and practices. Because of this, recruitment and retention endeavors should reflect this rich cultural fabric and employ strategies that are theory-based and culturally relevant. In this application, we build upon our existing rural and urban community-based infrastructure that has fostered community capacity for active engagement in clinical research and has served as a catalyst to increase participation of older AAs in health-related research studies. We envision continued mutually beneficial engagement, fostering opportunities both for the CLRC and RCMAR Scientists to solicit community input on the development of potential research questions and for community members to enjoy enhanced access to state-of-the-art clinical research focused on older AAs. To accomplish these broader goals, we propose the following specific aims for the Community Liaison and Recruitment Core of the Deep South RCMAR: (1) Work collaboratively with the Research Education Component (REC) to educate, train, and mentor RCMAR Scientists regarding the theory and approach to community engagement and assist RCMAR Scientists in recruiting older AAs to their research studies; (2) Advance scientific knowledge in the area of recruitment and retention of older urban and rural AAs by empirically testing recruitment and retention strategies developed in partnership with community members; (3) Expand capacity for community-academic partnerships to support the recruitment and retention of older urban and rural AAs; and (4) Disseminate research findings to the scientific community and the communities we serve. Through the activities of the CLRC, we expect that RCMAR Scientists will continue to have access to evidence-based recruitment and retention tools for both urban and rural older AAs, and realize enhanced participation of older AAs, greater community “buy-in” to research projects, and clearer routes of dissemination and intervention sustainability.