In support of the development of undergraduate researchers and the mentor development of predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars (Near Peers), a targeted near peer mentor training program was developed. Innovative and highly impactful early training experiences in research play a key role to inspire and motivate the next generation of scientists. Predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees are often asked to assist in the training and mentoring of short-term summer undergraduate researchers. Previous studies have shown that the efforts of these “near peers” to educate, train, and develop the summer undergraduate scholars have a positive impact on the undergraduate researchers. However, many near peer mentors have limited mentor training/experience and lack confidence in their ability to mentor undergraduate scholars. Thus, developing avenues and opportunities to train near peers on mentoring is vital to enhancing the experience of both the undergraduate researchers and near peers. The Kidney Undergraduate Research Experience (KURE) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) engages undergraduate summer scholars with a wholistic research experience which includes an involved team of near peer mentors. A near peer mentor training program was developed with input from near peer focus groups, based on their interest in expanding their mentoring abilities and developing confidence in their role as a near peer mentor. The aim of this study was to determine whether this mentoring program was effective in increasing near peer mentoring abilities and confidence levels through quantitative and qualitative measures. Evaluations were given to near peers prior to, during, and at the end of the 6-month program (44 scholars started the program in Fall 2022 and 33 scholars completed all activities). We found that 83% of near peers expressed increased confidence in mentoring (n=24). Improvement in specific mentoring abilities were also assessed, such as “confidence in effectively communicating expectations” (pre- 4.02, ±0.82, n=44; post- 4.83 ±0.37, n=24; using a scale from 1 = not at all to 5 = very confident). We also identified the most impactful elements of the program including facilitation, topics, and platforms. Through assessing these aspects of the program, we determined essential and sustainable elements for future near peer mentor training programs. We conclude that a near peer mentor training program builds confidence and enhances the ability of predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars in their roles as near peer mentors. NIH R25DK115353 — 05S1. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.