The Minority Student Development (MSD) Program will assist UNC-CH in enrolling and supporting increased numbers of students from underrepresented minority groups. The cornerstone of MSD at UNC-CH will be mentoring and will consist of multiple components involving UNC-CH undergraduate, graduate, medical, and dental students. Moreover, undergraduates from other schools will be involved via a summer research program to form a pipeline to UNC-CH graduate programs (and to other graduate programs as well). The program will build on the strengths of UNC-CH's strong research activities and its efforts in enhancing and promoting diversity among its graduate and professional student body. The program will also allow minority medical and dental students to spend summers and a full year gaining research experiences and establishing a foundation upon which they can build research and academic careers. At steady state, the program will provide annual support for at least 58 students (including MSD graduate assistants) across all components. Through MSD, UNC-CH will strengthen and expand current programs, and will develop additional programs to enhance the research competitiveness of underrepresented minority students at the undergraduate, graduate, and medical/dental school level to facilitate their careers in biomedical research.