OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Interleukin (IL)-6 is produced in excess in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Likewise, microarray analysis of Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)-II-treated NL fibroblasts revealed increased expression of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, BHLHB2. Our goal is to delineate the role of BHLHB2 in the fibrotic response to IGF-II and IL-6. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Primary lung fibroblasts were cultured from human lung tissues at 37oC and 5% CO2. Cell cultures were stimulated with IL-6. Gene expression was measured using quantitative PCR (qPCR). IGF-II mRNA expression levels after IL-6 stimulation were compared with those of the housekeeping gene PPIB (Peptidylprolyl Isomerase B). Western blot was performed on nuclear and chromatin-bound subcellular fractions from treated lung fibroblasts. BHLHB2 protein levels were assayed in response to IGF-II in comparison to PBS as vehicle control. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results: Our results show that IL-6 increases IGF-II levels in fibroblasts. In turn, IGF-II increases BHLHB2 nuclear localization. We further show that IL-6 increases BHLHB2 levels and its nuclear localization in lung fibroblasts. Our findings are novel since the role of the transcription factor BHLHB2 in the IL-6 induced/ IGF-II-mediated fibrotic response in SSc lung disease remains unexplored. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings may provide a rationale for combination therapy to block IL-6 and IGF-II function concomitantly and thus halt the progression of SSc pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Our findings may have wide implications for lung fibrosis associated with various diseases, since SSc-PF, is characterized by the activation of common fibrotic pathways.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: This study assesses patient and volumetric risk factors for distant recurrence within 6 months of completion of curative chemoradiation with brachytherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Initial tumor volume and tumor shrinkage velocity are prognostic of cure and survival after curative chemoradiation (CRT) for cervical cancer. We explored whether local tumor volumetric changes influence time to distant recurrences outside the radiation field. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with FIGO Stage IB-IVA cervical cancer treated with curative CRT and brachytherapy at a tertiary academic center with minimum 3 months follow up and standard post-treatment FDG-PET. Patients received 6 weekly fractions of brachytherapy interdigitated with external beam radiation and cisplatin. Tumor volumes were assessed by MRI at brachytherapy planning. Patients who developed distant metastasis were classified as earliest (3-6 months), early (6-24 months) or late (>24 months) following completion of CRT. Absolute and percent decrease in tumor volume for each fraction were calculated with respect to first brachytherapy volume. Fisher’s exact and Mann Whitney-U tests were used for comparison of categorical and continuous variables. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: 143 of 574 (25%) patients developed distant metastasis. Distribution of age, histology, FIGO 2018 stage, primary tumor SUVmax, treatment length, and pre/post treatment squamous cell carcinoma antigen levels were not associated in each group. Para-aortic lymph metastases were more common in patients with earliest distant recurrence (33% earliest, 26% early, 12% late, p=0.03). Median initial tumor volume in the earliest (n=24), early (n =29) and late (n=9) groups was 57, 28 and 40 mL, respectively (p=0.08); 57 (earliest) vs 30mL (early+late groups), p=0.04. Average mid treatment (fraction 4) and end of treatment (fraction 6) percent shrinkage was 80 (earliest) vs 73 (early+late), p=0.84 and 94 vs 92, p=0.95, respectively. Neither absolute nor percent tumor shrinkage differed between early vs. late groups. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Tumor volumetric changes during definitive chemoradiation were not associated with the timing of developing distant metastasis, which is linked to presence of lymph node metastasis and tumor volume at diagnosis.

Objectives/Goals: Improvements in acute stroke treatment, including critical care management, have increased survival rates post-stroke. However, many stroke survivors have significant neurological deficits, and stroke remains a leading cause of long-term disability. We aim to study the chronic progression and long-term sequelae of ischemic stroke pathology. Methods/Study Population: We examined long-term neurobehavioral recovery and progressive neuropathology of young (3 months) and middle-aged (14 months) adult male and female C57Bl/6 mice at 1, 3, and 6 months after a 60-minute transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) or sham surgery, as well as histopathological analysis of post-mortem brain samples from patients with a chronic infarct. Behavioral examination included the tail suspension test, the novel object recognition test (NORT), and the fear conditioning test (FCT). Molecular and pathological analyses included bulk transcriptomic screening, immunohistochemistry (IHC), flow cytometry, and atrophy analyses via MRI and microCT scanning. Results/Anticipated Results: In mice, depression-like behavior persisted for 6 months post-stroke (p<0.0001), while cognitive function progressively worsened from 3 to 6 months post-stroke as seen by NORT (6 months, p=0.0063). Memory retention deficits at 6 months were seen in the FCT (p=0.0084). Significant brain atrophy was evident by MicroCT and MRI at 2 and 6 months post-stroke. IHC showed significant demyelination (mouse p=0.0361; human p=0.0001) and increased microglial (p=0.0059) and astrocyte activation. TUNEL co-labeling with a neuronal marker showed neuronal apoptosis in human samples of chronic stroke. Disease-associated microglia (DAM) displayed senescent-like phenotypes. Nanostring showed neuroinflammatory pathway upregulation up to 6 months PS. Human stroke brains had more amyloid plaque (p=0.06). Discussion/Significance of Impact: Cellular senescence and chronic neurodegenerative signatures likely result in poor cognitive function that may progressively worsen after stroke. Studying this neurodegenerative etiology in the long-term post-stroke may offer viable targets for delayed stroke treatment, which would fill a severely unmet need for stroke survivors.

Objectives/Goals: Tibial bone stress injuries are running injuries that have a high risk of recurrence. Tibial load contributes to the development of bone stress injuries; however, this variable is clinically inaccessible. The objective of this study is to establish a relationship between tibial load during running and clinical tests to support safe return to running. Methods/Study Population: Thirty-two healthy recreational runners (13 F, 19 M, age 23.6 y, height 1.77 m, mass 73.71 kg, weekly volume 16.91 miles) ran at a self-selected pace on an instrumented treadmill for 5 minutes, while a 7-camera motion capture system collected whole body kinematics. Inverse dynamics were used to calculate ankle joint reaction forces and moments which were then used in a musculoskeletal model to calculate tibial axial force. Single leg heel-raise endurance, hand-held dynamometry ankle strength, and Y-balance tests were also assessed. Linear mixed models will be used to determine relationships between tibial force during running and strength and balance measures. Results/Anticipated Results: Data analysis is ongoing. Based on preliminary data, it appears that peak tibial bone force during running may demonstrate a relationship with lower extremity strength and balance. Clustering participants into “high” and “low” tibial force production during running may help identify specific ranges of strength and balance assessment outcomes that are appropriate for clinical goals. Discussion/Significance of Impact: The results of this study will attempt to establish relationships between tibial bone loads during running and strength and balance assessments that are clinically feasible. Results have potential to directly impact clinical practice by providing objective measures that may be used as surrogates for tibial bone force in a clinical setting.

Objectives/Goals: Understanding the interconnections among over 20,000 human diseases spanning organ systems could inform more precise diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Here, we examine whether the ability of large language models (LLMs) to learn universal representations of concepts can be leveraged to discover complex relationships across human diseases. Methods/Study Population: To address the challenge of computationally representing thousands diseases spanning multiple organ systems, we used internal representations of concepts by LLMs to encode diseases based on their descriptions from standard disease ontologies (ICD10 and Phecodes). To do this, we leveraged application programming interfaces (APIs) of three LLMs-GPT3.5, Mistral and Voyage to encode disease relationships. We then performed unsupervised clustering of the diseases using their encodings (embeddings) from each LLM to determine whether the resulting clusters reflect disease relationships. To enable deeper exploration of disease relationships, we developed interactive plots that provide a system level view of the relationships between thousands of diseases and their association with specific organ systems. Results/Anticipated Results: We found that unsupervised analysis of disease relationships using the LLM encodings reveal high similarities among diseases based on organ systems they affect. All the LLMs clustered diseases into groups largely defined by the organ systems they affect without being trained to specifically classify diseases into their corresponding organ system classification. An exception to this was tumors in which we observed that most tumors cluster together as a group irrespective of the organs they affect. Interestingly, we found that tumors affecting anatomically related organs show higher similarity to each other than to those affecting distantly related organs. In addition to anatomical relationships between diseases, we found that the LLM embeddings capture genetic relationships between diseases. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Overall, we found that the LLM-derived encodings uphold biologically and clinically significant relationships across organ systems and disease types. These results suggest that LLM encodings could provide a universal framework for representing diseases as computable phenotypes and enable the discovery of complex disease relationships.

Objectives/Goals: The standard care for malignant gliomas includes maximal tumor resection, but challenges arise near functional (speech) areas. Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) identifies functional (nonresectable) cortex. We aim to identify electrophysiologic (via subdural electrode recordings [ECOG]) biomarkers of DCS-positive (functional) areas. Methods/Study Population: Our lab maintains one of the largest datasets of electrophysiology analysis of glioma infiltrated brain cortex in the USA. Recordings of intraoperative brain mapping were analyzed to identify cortical sites that were found to be positive (functional) during DCS. DCS positive and negative (nonfunctional) sites were aligned to corresponding subdural electrodes. Future analysis: We plan to compare the temporal and spectral electrophysiologic variations associated with cortical sites found to be DCS positive versus negative during brain mapping. We plan to train machine learning classifiers that utilize these electrophysiologic biomarkers to discriminate between DCS positive and negative sites. Results/Anticipated Results: In total, our database comprised of 110 resections with brain mapping (DCS) and ECOG, including 4 patients who underwent a second procedure for resection. Eight patients were excluded as their resections were for brain metastases, not glioma. Our final cohort was comprised of 98 glioma resections, including 4 patients who underwent surgery twice for recurrence. During these resections, a total of 1393 sites were mapped via DCS for language function (including picture naming, word reading, and sentence syntax tasks). Of these 1393 sites, 100 sites were found to be DCS positive (7.1% positivity rate). (Currently in the process of conducting analysis comparing electrophysiologic features and biomarkers of DCS positive versus negative sites.) Discussion/Significance of Impact: This research is ongoing. Identifying electrophysiologic biomarkers of critical DCS-positive regions may provide a durable alternative to stimulation mapping. Due to its resource intensity, DCS has access barriers. Future neurosurgeons may use biomarkers from subdural electrode recordings to plan safer cortical resections.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Susceptible mucocutaneous membranes of the eye and nasal cavity are easily infected by viruses leading to pink eye or respiratory infections whose direct cost has been estimated as $16 billion annually in the United States. We have developed a novel and effective barrier that will be agnostic to variants enveloped viruses like coronaviruses. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We evaluated the efficacy of hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin barrier in preventing respiratory coronavirus infections using 25 humanized angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor (hACE-2) mice under a BSL3 laboratory setting. We have shown the barrier is safe and efficacious in preventing coronavirus infections in in vitro respiratory cell lines. We instilled 10 uL aliquot of the barrier into the nostril of the mouse 30 minutes before exposing them to a 10uL titer containing 10,000 plaque forming units of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant. The control mice received the SARS-CoV-2 infection but not the barrier. The mice were observed for 5 days after which they were sacrificed. We analyzed the lungs and nasal palates for viral load using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We observed our barrier to be effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 delta variant infection in hACE2 mice models. The lungs and nasal secretions of treated mice were less infectious with lower viral load than the control mice. The lungs of treated mice showed decrease in IFN gene expression and many cytokines and chemokines that regulate virally induced inflammatory responses such as IL-1b, IL-8, CXCL9, CXCL10, and the CCLs. We observed the plasma Angiotensin I and Angiotensin II decreased with barrier treatment, correlating with the viral load observed in the lungs. These peptides may be useful biomarkers for monitoring viral load within the lungs of virally infected individuals. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This supports the barrier’s efficacy to reduce transmission and prevent infections of SARS-CoV-2. This easy to use barrier can augment the mucocutaneous layers of the eye and nasal cavity. Our agnostic barrier will reduce the economic and public health burden of seasonal respiratory and eye viral infections and their related deaths amongst the public.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Urine tumor DNA non-invasively detects minimal residual disease and infers tumor mutational burden in locally advanced bladder cancer prior to radical cystectomy, which may potentially enable the selection of patients for bladder-sparing treatment or facilitate personalized adjuvant immunotherapy. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Standard-of-care treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is radical cystectomy. The inability to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) non-invasively limits our ability to offer bladder-sparing treatment. We sought to develop a liquid biopsy solution via urine tumor DNA (utDNA) analysis. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We applied uCAPP-Seq, a targeted sequencing method for detecting utDNA, to urine cell-free DNA samples acquired on the day of radical cystectomy from 42 patients with bladder cancer. utDNA variant-calling was performed non-invasively without prior tumor mutational knowledge. The overall utDNA level for each patient was represented by the non-silent mutation with the highest variant allele fraction after removing germline variants. Urine was similarly analyzed from 15 healthy adults. Tumor mutational burden (TMB) was inferred from the number of non-silent mutations detected in urine cell-free DNA by applying a linear relationship derived from TCGA whole exome sequencing of 409 MIBC tumors. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: utDNA levels were significantly higher in patients with residual disease detected in their surgical pathology compared to those who achieved a pathologic complete response (P = 0.002). Using an optimal utDNA threshold to define MRD detection, positive utDNA MRD significantly predicted the absence of pathologic complete response with a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 81%. Positive utDNA MRD also portended significantly worse progression-free survival (HR = 7.4; P = 0.03) compared to negative utDNA MRD. Furthermore, we applied a linear relationship (Pearson r = 0.84; P < 0.0001) to identify patients with high inferred TMB who may have been candidates for early immune checkpoint blockade. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: utDNA MRD analysis prior to surgery correlated significantly with pathologic response and progression-free survival, which may help select patients for bladder-sparing treatment. utDNA can also non-invasively infer TMB, which could facilitate personalized adjuvant therapy for patients in the future.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection can lead to reproductive morbidity in women. Animal models suggest that protection against CT is mediated through the cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), produced by CD4+ T-cells, which clears CT through intracellular tryptophan depletion. In humans, correlates of protection remain to be elucidated, which hinders chlamydia vaccine development. Natural clearance of CT infection (e.g., clearance before antibiotics) may be an immunological correlate of protection, evidenced by (1) CT clearance without antibiotics; and (2) a 4-fold reduced risk of CT reinfection within 6 months. We have identified women with and without natural clearance of CT infection. By comparing these two groups of women, the role of IFN-γ-mediated natural clearance of CT infection will be investigated. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Through collaboration with a cohort study of CT-infected women, we have access to stored specimens from women who naturally cleared CT or had persisting CT infection. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), we will assess whether natural clearance of CT infection is associated with IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T-cells by stimulating PBMC ex vivo with CT antigens using intracellular cytokine staining. We will also use cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) and untargeted High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry to assess for tryptophan-dependent and -independent metabolic pathways associated with natural clearance of CT infection. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS:: To date, IFN-γ has been measured in 10 women who did not clear CT infection, demonstrating that <20% of these women produced significant levels of IFN-γ. Women who naturally cleared CT have yet to be studied. Untargeted HPLC-MS has been performed on 6 women (3 who cleared matched to 3 with persisting CT infection). To date, 11 pathways that are significantly associated with natural clearance have been identified. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The outcome of natural clearance of CT infection is distinct from women with persisting chlamydia. These studies may inform whether IFN-γ, produced by CD4+ T-cells, or tryptophan-dependent or -independent metabolic pathways are associated with natural clearance, which may advance chlamydia vaccine development.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) remains to be the leading infectious cause of fetal anomalies. The role of fetal natural killer (NK) cells during cCMV remains largely unknown. The objective of this study is to define the transcriptomes of fetal NK cells exposed to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection during gestation. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Four sets of umbilical cord blood and matching umbilical cord tissues were collected from two HCMV seropositive (HCMV+) and two HCMV seronegative (HCMV-) fetuses that did not experience any complications during gestation. These samples were provided by the Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank and were processed within 24 hours following live birth. CD7+ CD3e-CD14-CD19-CD20- fetal NK cells were isolated, using the BD FACSAria sorter. Following cell sorting, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed, and cDNA libraries were constructed and sequenced via NextSeq 550. Cell Ranger was then used to algin the cDNA reads and the Seurat R package was used to analyze the transcriptional data. Cells were filtered and clustered based on the number of uniquely expressed genes. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Four sets of umbilical cord blood and matching umbilical cord tissues were collected from two HCMV+ and two HCMV- fetuses. We were able to successfully sort and capture fetal NK cells and perform scRNA-seq on these samples. Following unbiased clustering, we observed and characterized five distinct fetal NK cell subsets in the umbilical cord blood and four fetal NK cell subsets in the corresponding umbilical cord tissue. Our findings revealed that HCMV+ fetal NK cells primarily consisted of mature NK cell subsets, while HCMV- fetal NK cells constituted the majority of the immature subsets. Importantly, we identified a unique subset of NKG2CHi fetal NK cells that were significantly elevated in the HCMV+ fetuses. Finally, we defined a group of transcription factors involved in the formation of antiviral fetal NK. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Here, we demonstrate that HCMV infection can induce the formation of distinct NK cell subsets and drive their unique transcriptional profiles. These findings have the potential to guide the development of an innovative NK cell immunotherapy that could help prevent fetuses from developing symptomatic cCMV.

Objectives/Goals: Neurodegenerative diseases involve progressive neuronal loss or dysfunction, often due to accumulated damage and impaired repair mechanisms. Our research evaluates the role of innate immune recognition proteins to provide insights into age-related neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Methods/Study Population: We will utilize transcriptomic data from the Long-Life Family Study (LLFS), a cohort rich in genetic and phenotypic data related to aging and longevity. Our approach includes assessing a set of innate immune recognition proteins, also known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) expression across various age groups, focusing on potential correlations with cognitive performance. By analyzing serum transcriptomic profiles, we aim to map changes in expression and DNA repair genes over time, evaluating their connection to cognitive health and neurodegeneration in aging populations. Results/Anticipated Results: We anticipate that the expression of some PRRs will increase with age and correlate with cognitive decline, suggesting a role in age-related neurodegeneration. We also expect a decrease in DNA repair pathway gene expression in older age groups, contrasting with an increase in genes involved in endogenous DNA detection. These results will reveal how PRRs may function as neuroprotective factors and how their expression changes may relate to the decline in DNA repair processes with age, providing a better understanding of innate immune recognition in cognitive health. Discussion/Significance of Impact: This study will reveal the role of PRRs in aging and neurodegeneration, potentially establishing them as a key player in neuronal protection. Findings may guide future research into therapeutic strategies targeting them for Alzheimer’s and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Cell-cell (CC) and cell-matrix interactions (CM) are known to affect drug sensitivity of cancer cells, but are not effectively recapitulated using 2D platforms. This research aims to determine how cell and matrix interactions confer drug resistivity in 3 distinct culturing models: 2D (no CM/limited CC), 3D spheroids (CC) and 3D fibronectin (both). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We examined four breast cancer cell types. The cells were derived from a nonmetastatic primary tumor (HMLE-E2) or overt bone-metastasis (BM). Transglutaminase 2 (TGM2), a matrix crosslinking protein, is overexpressed in metastatic bone tumors and may play a key role in matrix-conferred drug resistivity. In a gain-of-function model, TGM2 was upregulated in HMLE-E2 cells and compared to shTGM2 knockdown BM cells. Growth rates were analyzed using metabolic activity over 8 days, and drug sensitivity to Neratinib (0-1000 nM) was analyzed via cell titer. To account for the different transport properties of the 3 distinct culture environments, we developed a mathematical model for each condition, allowing us to normalize the drug sensitivity results across models to effectively compare true biological resistivity. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We observed that increased cellular levels of TGM2 significantly increase the growth rate and drug resistivity of cells on fibronectin matrices. Interestingly, in 2D cultures, TGM2 expression was correlated with higher Neratinib resistivity but did not affect growth rates. In spheroid models without a significant matrix component, that rely solely on cell-cell junctions, high levels of TGM2 were correlated with lower survival rates. Lower levels of TGM2 are correlated with a more epithelial phenotype, and using our mathematical model we have identified significant transport differences between high and low TGM2 spheroids. We theorize that the low TGM2 spheroids have denser packing, which lowers the rate of diffusion and, thus reduces the effective concentration of the drug to the majority of the cells. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our studies indicate that the cellular response to drugs can be altered by changes in both transport properties of the tissue and the CM interactions. By systematically investigating the effects of CC interactions and CM interactions, we can use mathematical models to delineate physical means of drug resistivity from a biologically driven resistance.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Ocular graft versus host disease (oGVHD) affects ~50% of individuals after an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant for treating blood cancers. OGVHD results in severe dry eye disease and decreased vision. Quantifying specific cytokine changes in tears may reveal biomarkers and future treatment targets for patients with oGVHD. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The goal of this study is to determine if cytokines can be measured in tears with the Isoplexis platform. This pilot validation study evaluates the tears of a patient with oGVHD utilizing the Isoplexis platform. The Isoplexis has specific advantages for tear samples including high-throughput analysis, and small sample requirements, but has yet to be validated in tears. A sample from normal and oGVHD patient tears were collected for comparison. Samples were analyzed on two separate backgrounds–standard Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) background and artificial tears (ATs). The negative control was ATs and positive control was a concentrated cytokine solution. Analysis of 22 cytokines was performed. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Analysis of 22 cytokines was performed. As expected, the cytokine levels of the ATs alone were below the limit of detection (LOD). The oGVHD patient tears showed elevated TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, perforin, MIP-1a, MIP-1β, MCP-1, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL-7A, IL9, IL-13, IL-15, IFN-γ, granzyme B, and GM-CSF with ATS background, but no cytokines above the LOD in the BSA background plate. The control tears had elevated IP-10. The elevated cytokines for the oGVHD patient corresponded to symptom severity and clinical findings. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that using ATs as the background with the Isoplexis platform improves the sensitivity to detect tear cytokines. Findings of elevated IL-7A and GM-CSF in tears parallels literature findings for oGVHD. Further evaluation of samples will continue to validate the Isoplexis multiplex assay for tear cytokine analyses.

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) was a research-intense, one-year training program for recent college graduates from experiential backgrounds uncommon in science who intended to matriculate with a PhD program in preparation for a career in biomedical research. Case Western Reserve University had an NIGMS-supported PREP (CasePREP) from 2007 until 2025, the year NIGMS terminated the program and early expired the PREP funding mechanism. We report here the extent that CasePREP, with its 108 Scholars, met program goals as well as the economic and scientific impact NIGMS-supported PREP has had for a variety of stakeholders. CasePREP was a great success as measured by its major outcomes: matriculation into a PhD or MD/PhD program (83%) and completion of degree (51 Scholars to date). CasePREP Scholars have persisted in science and have made substantial contributions to the scientific workforce and enterprise. PREPs in general provided a crucial bridge for research talents who had little prior research opportunities to realize their potential and career goals. NIGMS termination of PREP support has negative economic consequences and endangers an important pathway to a career in science for Americans who would not otherwise have similar opportunities.

Youth are an understudied population requiring additional safeguards when participating in research. Their input is necessary to facilitate participation and interest in studies. To address this, Mayo Clinic established one of the first pediatric advisory boards (PAB) comprised of 18 diverse youth aged 11–17. The PAB members participated in quarterly meetings (in person and then by video conference with the advent of COVID-19) where they provided feedback to researchers on recruitment strategies, study materials, and procedures. The PAB meetings fostered bidirectional conversations with researchers on several health research topics, including mental health. Youth advisory boards can promote engagement in pediatric research.

Engaging, accessible, evidence-based interventions are needed to support the professional development of research mentors within the clinical and translational sciences. This article reports on the usage and impact of the University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s online mentor training module, Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring (OPM). Among the 1,124 OPM users in our contemporary evaluation sample (Feb 2019–June 2022), retrospective pre-to-post gains were observed in respondents’ self-rated mentorship skills (11 items), perceptions of the overall quality of mentoring they provide, and mentoring confidence. A high proportion (83%) of users reported making or intending to make changes in their mentoring practices as a result of the training. Example behavior changes included a greater focus on aligning expectations, more proactive attention to the relationship (overall and its distinct phases), increased usage of active communication skills, adoption of tools such as Individual Development Plans, and ongoing self-reflection. Over a 10-year period, 4,011 unique individuals registered for the module, representing over 650 different institutions (a majority being affiliated with past or current Clinical and Translational Science Hubs). OPM has the versatility to be employed as a standalone, asynchronous approach for mentor development or as one curricular component of more comprehensive, multimodal programs.