U2C/TL1 NC KUH TRIO Program

North Carolina is distinctly advantaged to be the home for a trio of well-established, premier academic medical centers that already engage in collaborative and multi-institutional programs supported by world-class researchers and mentors with internationally recognized expertise in kidney, urologic, and hematologic (KUH)

specialties. Our multi-institutional application also includes three top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina that are all constituent institutions in the UNC 16-college system. Working with these HBCUs enhances our ability to identify and mentor a diverse cohort of trainees and early career investigators

from high school through early faculty. We propose to develop discoverers who are representative of our diverse KUH disease population through the North Carolina Kidney, Urology, and Hematology Training, Research, Innovation, and Outreach Program (NC KUH TRIO Program), abbreviated as TRIO. The principal goal of TRIO

is to improve the care and outcomes for patients with KUH diseases, and we are proposing a comprehensive roadmap that will train and mentor a multidisciplinary workforce, from engineers to entrepreneurs to physicians, who will achieve this goal. A Training Core and linked Administrative, Networking, and Professional Development

Cores will function in concert to achieve the TRIO Specific Aims and provide a seamless experience for trainees utilizing a platform that spans our institutions and cores. The Training Core will provide state-of-the-art training for both pre- and post-doctoral trainees to prepare them for cutting-edge, collaborative, innovative and cross-

disciplinary research in KUH areas of interest. The Administrative Core supports TRIO to foster diverse, integrated activities and address program goals. Through the Networking Core, TRIO will provide the infrastructure to attract new talent from the biologic and physical science, retain students entering STEM

programs, and connect a broad and vibrant cohort of trainees. Finally, the Professional Development Core will offer training that will expose trainees to multidisciplinary research, novel technologies, and professional development opportunities to expand their scientific and clinical experience and in the end, accelerate KUH

research. With these Cores working in concert, TRIO is poised to grow and thrive in exciting ways as it trains a diverse cohort of future KUH researchers, who will ultimately change the lives of patients with KUH diseases.