Mission:

• To develop and prepare the next generation of American scientists, including minorities under-represented in the sciences
• To recruit and equip outstanding faculty, including minorities
• To develop and share core research facilities
• To implement strategies for scientific networking
• To build unique collaborations among biologists, chemists, biopsychologists, biophysicists, bioanthropologists and clinicians 
• To transform basic research discoveries into clinical applications

Goals:

• Continue to increase and diversify the research faculty with emphasis on:
  
  • Recruitment of faculty historically underrepresented in the sciences
  • Mentoring of junior faculty to increase their competitiveness in acquiring extramural support and enhancing their visibility as researchers
  • Improve the research environment by increasing the contributions of post-doctoral fellows and graduate students in the research enterprise
•  Sponsor complementary activities, such as colloquia, workshops and symposia
• Strengthen the research infrastructure
• Train and encourage students to pursue graduate study in biomedical research
• Participate in Translational Research with the Clinical Translational Science Center and with the RCMI Translational Research Network