The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is one of four schools in the nation designated as "bimodal" - ranking in the top 20% in both production of primary care physicians and in NIH dollars received. With core missions of education, research and clinical service, UNC provides care for a state with a 27% minority population. It is not surprising, therefore, that we reflect the service needs of our community in our choice of research projects that adddress minority health issues and access.

The Center of Excellence will:

• increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) medical students who participate in research on issues particularly affecting health and health care delivery for underrepresented minorities by identifying and assigning established faculty researchers to server as mentors
• provide funding to increase the number of URM students completing a year-long research project on URM-related issues
• support an increase in the number of URM medical students who pursue a Master's degree in Public Health in biostatistics, epidemiology or community-based research
• increase the total number of URM faculty pursuing research in issues particularly affecting health and health care delivery for underrepresented minorities
• sponsor an annual "evening with faculty" for URM students to interact with faculty whose research has a minority healthcare focus
• sponsor a week-long series of seminars and informal sessions with a visiting URM researcher/scholar.