This initiative offers 135 students a seven-week summer experience through the Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) for 11th graders and the Health Professions Partnership Initiative Program for 9th and 10th graders. The Health Professions Recruitment/Exposure Program (Winter Academy) for 10th through 12th graders enhances students' academic skills through hands-on course work using cadaver parts and computer software. These statewide programs provide students an opportunity to develop their knowledge of and competence in science through hands-on research in clinical and basic science laboratories at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. For six Saturdays in February and March, students study the thorax and abdomen in lecture/lab format. The overall objective is to foster a continued interest in the sciences and encourage greater numbers of minority/disadvantaged students to pursue research and/or health professional careers. In addition, students learn about the day-to-day working lives of those who have chosen careers in research and the health professions.