The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Nicaragua is reported to be low, but there are reasons for concern that the incidence of HIV infection could rise rapidly. A generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nicaragua, one of the two _oorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, would have a devastating impact on its health, economy, lational infrastructure, and human resources. Preventing such an epidemic from occurring is a public health imperative. Currently, little HIV prevention research is being conducting in Nicaragua, and the research that is being done lacks an organizing center. The long-term goal of this collaboration between Yale University, the Nicaraguan Autonomous National University at Lebn (UNAN-Lebn), and Ume& University in Sweden, which has a longstanding collaborative relationship with UNAN-Lebn, is the creation of a capable, sustainable, and independent HIV/STI Prevention Research Group within UNAN-Lebn that will serve as a center of excellence for HIV/STI prevention research in Nicaragua and in Central America. The current proposal is a developmental proposal aimed at strengthening HIV/STI prevention research capacity at UNAN-Lebn. The specific aims are: 1) To train four early- to mid-career UNAN-Lebn faculty members and one postdoctoral trainee in HIV/STI prevention research, with individual concentrations in leadership and research management, epidemiology, qualitative research, and intervention research, and a general focus on research proposal writing; 2) To develop collaborative HIV/STI prevention research projects between faculty members of UNAN-Lebn, Yale University, and Ume& University; and 3) To provide short-term training in financial and grants management, qualitative research methods, and research ethics. The proposed program will extend the Yale AITRP, which has a six-year history of training Russian, Chinese, Indian, and South African scholars, to Nicaragua. The program will be affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale. [unreadable] [unreadable]