Four Duke University School of Medicine students are among the 33 graduate students recently named 2025-26 North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellows.
Students selected to this year’s class by the North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellowship will spend the next year learning to effectively address the social factors that impact health as they develop lifelong leadership skills. This year’s class is the largest ever.
Schweitzer Fellows develop and implement service projects that address the root causes of health disparities in under-resourced communities, while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based organization.
This year’s class of Schweitzer Fellows includes:
Alexandra Hunter and Rebecca Zasloff
Academic Mentor: Trinitia Cannon, MD
Site Mentor: Cheyenne Corbett, PhD
Site: Supportive Care and Survivorship Center at Duke Cancer Institute
Hunter and Zasloff will launch a head and neck cancer patient navigation and peer mentorship program to improve patient access to care and enhance overall well-being.
Sally Kuehn and Mindy Kim
Academic Mentor: Rachel Wood, MD
Site Mentor: J. Patrick Hemming, MD, MPH
Site: Duke high-risk OB clinic Project FEED (Food Empowerment and Education Delivery)
Kuehn and Kim will address food insecurity and maternal health disparities for high-risk pregnant women with gestational diabetes by providing them with fresh food at no cost and free nutrition counseling.
Schweitzer Fellowships have an intensive leadership component, with Fellows working closely with community and academic mentors during their fellowship year. They often serve as role models for their peers inspiring others to improve the health of those who experience barriers to care.
“Schweitzer Fellows are not given a project or told to address a specific health need,” said Barbara Heffner, executive director of the North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “They follow their passion and the needs of the community to develop innovative approaches which fill gaps in our health care system.”