I.A. SPECIFIC AIMS The University of Florida (UF) has an exceptionally rich environment of colleges, state-of-the-art laboratories, clinical research facilities, interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, and a distinguished faculty located in a highly diverse state with expanding health needs. These resources and our position as a flagship institution uniquely position the University of Florida to respond to this RFA, addressing the disproportionate burden of oral diseases experienced by vulnerable segments of society. The overarching goal of this application is to build a sustainable enterprise (Southeast Center for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health, CRRDOH) that will complement existing strengths at UF and synergistically support clinical and translational research ranging from benchtop to chairside and beyond. The CRRDOH will address and ultimately eliminate disparities in oral health including constructing and maintaining formal and informal mechanisms through which community-based research methodology can be refined. We propose to build on scientific excellence strengthened through the NIDCR-funded Research Infrastructure Enhancement Award and upon community partnerships.1 The initial theme of this Center is to reduce disparities in early detection of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) using theoretically - derived community based interventions with a second theme to apply community-based research principles gleaned from early projects to secondary projects.