The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Maternal Health Research Center INTRODUCTION Pregnancy and the postpartum windows are critical life transitions for women that can be leveraged to prevent maternal health disparities. Obstetrics and gynecology patients commonly present with chronic pain, substance abuse, obesity, and/or concerns about intimate partner violence. Many of these conditions are co-morbid. Hispanic women living in the US-MX border region disproportionately experience structural determinants and conditions (e.g., poverty, low socioeconomic status, lack of access to health care) associated with shorter life expectancy and adverse health outcomes across the life course. These structural determinants lead to a higher prevalence of chronic, mental, infectious disease and persistent health disparities in border populations. Place-based stressors such as poverty and/or poor housing along with psychosocial risks such as depression work synergistically and are important drivers of health disparities in our border region. These psychosocial and behavioral risks in Hispanic women require a multi-level and systemic approach to address. We aim to establish a maternal health research center at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), the second largest Hispanic serving institute in the US. The goals and objectives of the UTRGV Maternal Health Research Center (MHRC) follow. Goal 1: The UTRGV MHRC will plan and implement maternal health research studies to inform relevant, culturally appropriate and peer led interventions to address health disparities in our region and beyond. Goal 2: Increase the capacity for maternal health disparity research at UTRGV. Goal 3: Develop manuscripts to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Goal 4: Disseminate and translate research findings into practice.