The UHM Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program (RCMI) has continued to work towards its overall goal of catalyzing excellence in new initiatives in health-related research.. The focus of the current program is in four activities: Core Support, Molecular Endocrinology, Retrovirology and Native Hawaiian Health Research. Core Support -- is designed to maintain and extend the level of achievement of the cell, molecular and neuro-behavioral foci of the first five years by providing indirect, selective and cost- effective support for student research resources, electron microscopy and molecular biology facilities, shops, a computer specialist and a biostatistician to support all targeted activities. RCMI support has attracted significant State matching for these elements contributing to the competitive posture of our faculty. Molecular Endocrinology -- a new area of selective excellence, brings together human and physical resources in the Pacific Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) and the Medical School. The objective is to bring junior faculty up to the competitive level required for developing FIRST, R01 or P01 grant proposals, by providing mentoring, technical support, equipment and supplies for pilot research projects in endocrinology. Retrovirology -- draws on resources in PBRC, the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii (CRCH) and the Medical School and consolidates our efforts in basic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies of the human retroviruses, HIV and HTLV-1, into a single activity complementing a separately funded AIDS Clinical Trials Unit. Native Hawaiian Health Research -- a new initiative, brings together resources from PBRC, the Medical School and local community health groups in a collaborative pilot effort to study risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in native Hawaiians.