UTMB students chosen as Albert Schweitzer Fellows

Eleven University of Texas Medical Branch students were accepted to the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston Galveston for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Located within the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, the program aims to help students develop leadership skills and professional knowledge through work that supports the health needs of underserved communities.

The newly named Fellows are:

• Alekhya Gurram and Rahul Nanduri (John Sealy School of Medicine):
  • Project: Creative Commons, intended to expand creative therapy options for people with aphasia
  • Community site: Houston Aphasia Recovery Center
• Inaara Aly and Esther Jeong (John Sealy School of Medicine) and Megan Zachariah (John Sealy School of Medicine and School of Public and Population Health)
  • Project: Grub Club, a youth program that includes nutrition education, meal prep sessions and activities around dietary and lifestyle education
  • Community site: Galveston Urban Ministries
• Neha Dronamraju (John Sealy School of Medicine)
  • Project: BrIDging Resources, intended to help unsheltered individuals access personal identification documents and employment
  • Community site: CHRISTUS Our Daily Bread
• Anne Reckart, Alexa Cahalane and Britney Shen (School of Health Professions Physical Therapy)
  • Project: Addressing inaccessibility of assistive devices and proper footwear to aid in mobility deficits
  • Community site: Grace Mobility Clinic at Galveston Central Church
• Kush Brahmbhatt (John Sealy School of Medicine and School of Public and Population Health)
  • Project: Preparing and Responding to Accidental and Intentional Chemical Release Incidents in Galveston and Brazoria Counties
  • Community site: UTMB Institutional Preparedness Program
• Shilpa Rumalla (John Sealy School of Medicine)
  • Project: Voices of Care, which uses expressive arts to engage stories of caregivers of children and adults with disabilities
  • Community site: TIRR Memorial Hermann
  The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is dedicated to training the next generation of professionals to serve and empower vulnerable people to build healthier communities and live healthier lives. Overall, the program has trained 307 Fellows who in turn served 12.190 people over 56,000 hours of service.