Karla Fernanda Arreola-Lucio

Biophysics & Health Policy

Hi everyone! I am Fernanda Arreola-Lucio (she/her/hers) and I was raised as in the heart of the Midwest-- Minneapolis, MN! My heart lives deeply withing my home community and I aspire to return one day, as a physician to the Midwest and provide rural healthcare access. I am a first-year at Duke University and plan on studying Biophysics and Health Policy in pursuit of using both to further advocate and develop pharmaceuticals, and bring new practices aiming to solve and prevent rare diseases and infections that plague rural and underfunded areas. I am fascinated by the innerworking of physics and its tight intersection with human biology, as it is the small physical links and nuances that allow humans to prosper. I truly believe all great physician's, and also great physicists! My commitment to medicine is largely rooted in my past experiences witnessing the effects of generational poverty, and other socioeconomic barriers in my community. As a former firefighter and emergency medical technician, I have spent most of my efforts to target and ensure emergency care is both accessible, and representative of those who need it the most. You can normally find me volunteering for the Backpack Project Durham, assisting at Durham's Station 1, or advocating for policy and political changes to enable access for my communities needs both as a local debate coach, and as a canvasser for Planned Parenthood! As a proud first-generation Mexican-American, healthcare needs to be for all, and by all.