Sarah Simmons

Academic Interests: Biology major and Chemistry and biology minors

Hello! I am a Junior at Duke University majoring in Sociology and minoring in Biology and Chemistry. For as long as I could remember, I have wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but as I grew older, my interest expanded to not only the actual practice of medicine, but also why certain groups are exposed to certain diseases and conditions more than others. Why is it that minorities tend to have higher rates of a wide variety of medical conditions, suffer worse symptoms, and worst of all, have higher death rates with these conditions? When I was in high school, I was diagnosed with a rare breathing disorder, but the path to that diagnosis was long and hard. Many doctors disregarded my symptoms as being psychosomatic or “all in my head”. It was not until my fifth doctor who happened to be a doctor of color that my voice was heard, and a proper diagnosis was given to me. It was this experience, and the exposure to the vast amount of disciplines at Duke that pushed me to think about social determinants of health and their true impact on the lives and health of minority groups. Despite my desire to be a doctor from a young age, that experience combined with the expansion of my knowledge during my time here at Duke that solidified my dream of being a doctor—not only for me, but for all the people of color whose experiences and symptoms are invalidated by their doctors. At Duke, I work at Duke’s Medical School Alumni Office, and am on the executive board of the Minority Association of Premedical Students where I currently serve as the Director of Programming. In addition, I have worked in various roles to help the Black Student Alliance Invitational (BSAI for short) to be a success since my arrival at Duke, as it is what pushed me to attend Duke. I also volunteer as a tutor for the Empowerment Hub—an organization working to help k-12 students succeed in their academic courses. I look forward to continuing my research on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Emory University and participating in my research with the Bass Connections program in the fall. Fun fact: I’m vegan, so in my free time, I love trying new vegan recipes to emulate my grandmother’s cooking (it’s a lot harder than it sounds), and making my friends try new vegan food with me!