The ASM General Meeting Minority Travel Grant Program - Cycle 4 is a five-year initiative to increase the number of underrepresented minorities (URMs) who choose and excel in careers in the microbiological sciences. The program's overall goal is to achieve this increase by supporting URM postdoctoral fellows, advanced graduate students (all but dissertation phase), and faculty from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and community colleges (CCs) to attend the ASM General Meeting. Although much of the U.S. scientific and engineering innovations are made by those with advanced education and training, many data - such as those in the 2011 NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates - show the need for (i) more diversity in the educational pipeline and (ii) URM students to receive doctorates and succeed in the scientific and engineering workforce. By attending the General Meeting, grantees will benefit from opportunities to present research and interact with ~7,000 microbiologists at the event. These interactions may result in extensive networking; partnerships to enhance research, curriculum content, and student learning; lasting mentoring relationships; and exposure to new sources of funding and career planning. Grantees also become poised to recruit and empower colleagues and students in microbiology research and education. Specific aims for the program focus on supporting the success of URMs in the microbiology workforce: Aim 1: To provide faculty from MSIs and CCs and advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from URM groups in the sciences with opportunities to expand their research capabilities by networking and collaborating with established microbiologists at the ASM General Meeting. Aim 2: To provide faculty from MSIs and CCs and advanced graduate students and URM postdoctoral fellows from groups with opportunities to enhance their teaching and mentoring capabilities. Aim 3: To increase the number of ASM members from URM groups in the sciences. Aim 4: To increase the interest of faculty from MSIs and advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from URM groups in becoming actively involved in ASM.