Program Summary-Overall Indian Health Council, Inc. (IHC) with San Diego State University (SDSU) and University of California San Diego (UCSD), intends to build upon their already existing long-term research partnership in the proposed projects/studies in the NARCH X application. The Student Development Program will further expand and refine strategies to recruit students from local academic institutions into biomedical and behavioral sciences as well as, continue to provide strong mentorship and guidance for the students in and outside of the region. The Child Development Resource Center will build upon a previous study conducted in NARCH VII that focused on prenatal substance use and now will look to determine the prevalence of specific developmental disabilities in the target community, and will identify potential causes and barriers to effective treatment in affected families, including substance use, family stress and mental health issues. The Addressing HIV/STI Awareness and Prevention among Rural American Indians study, a new endeavor will examine HIV/STI awareness and will identify strategies for delivering HV/STI prevention in rural reservation communities in the north San Diego County. This study will have a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to examine community-level risk perception, identify what is acceptable and feasible platform(s) to deliver education efforts, and assess social/structural conditions affecting HIV/STI related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Another proposed new study, Aging Well in Indian Country will use community-based participatory research methods to examine the state of aging among tribes in north San Diego County. It will use qualitative and cultural approaches along with personal interviews to engage members (50 years and over) of the tribes to determine their perspectives on well-aging, the perceived challenges associated with aging and existing resources for promoting health in aging, and areas of unmet needs. The information gathered will be the foundation to design a culturally appropriate survey for the target group and the results will be shared in tribal leadership. Lastly, the Administrative Core will function as administrative support for the student project and individual research studies by providing oversight through the IRB, providing/dispersing information on resources and mentoring opportunities, and guidance in evaluation planning.