The Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network (ESIN) was established with two central goals in mind:

• To address urgent health and social disparities affecting the nation’s communities of color through research-based strategies; and
• To redress the critically inadequate representation of investigators of color among federally funded research scientists. 

Predicated upon the idea that excellent scholarship is a prerequisite for social change, ESIN now supports over 700 early, mid-career, and senior level investigators  who conduct disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the social, behavioral, and natural sciences related to issues affecting people of color.

ESIN's primary objectives as an interdisciplinary network of junior, mid-career, and senior scholars are:

• To bring about cross-disciplinary interaction among a new generation of investigators from universities and private research/policy institutions in order to help them partner and link with community-based practices, social institutions, and health systems;
• To effect change in the purpose of scientific inquiry, the investigative questions that are asked, as well as the theories and methodologies that are utilized in research; and
• To facilitate the development of new prevention and treatment strategies for improving communities of color and their capacity to address the numerous social and health disparities hindering the positive development of their children, youth, and families.