This is the third blog post in a series written by the 2026 recipients of the Duke University Libraries Summer Research Fellowship for LIFE Students. You can read the first and second blog posts. Lia Lapidot is a senior studying biology, psychology, and religious studies.
My earlier studies at Duke were characteristically “STEM,” with all prior research being in neurosurgery and classes being pre-medical prerequisites. This hampered my ability to begin to understand the societal factors affecting the lived experiences of anyone on the planet. My semester abroad in Madrid marked a change in this unintentional neglect of history and society. I took an eye-opening course titled Cultures in Contact: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in Medieval Spain and Now. This course not only taught me, but also allowed me to fully comprehend that any action taken, any building stood in, and any words spoken came from thousands of years of complicated human interaction, of which religion took a central role. After learning of the central role of Al-Andalus (the medieval Muslim-governed territory on the Iberian Peninsula) in the advancement of science throughout Europe, I was left with many burning questions outside of the scope of the class. Seeking answers, I took a course titled Science and Religion the following semester. In this course, I read about how modern society in the United States can often treat medicine/healthcare and religion as two separate spheres, a mindset contributing to the “conflict thesis” of science and religion. The religious figures/theorists discussed in the class were largely Christian, followed by Muslim thinkers. Having grown up Jewish, I was curious what the Jewish influences might have been in the distant past. I had heard of rabbi Maimonides through the course abroad, with an emphasis placed on his work as a philosopher. Discovering he was also an incredibly important physician, I wrote a paper titled the Complexity Thesis: Religion and Medicine Through the Works of Maimonides. Al-Andalus had been a domain where religion and healthcare came as one, and people of various religions worked in tandem to allow science to flourish.
But how has that translated to the 21st century? Naively, I thought it hadn’t. However, this research led me to seek its existence in our current times. Hence, this summer, I sought to explore the interstices of religion, well-being and healthcare through my ongoing volunteer work. I have been volunteering for two organizations (names withheld for privacy) in the Triangle Area– a free medical clinic and a homeless shelter. At the clinic, I serve as a Spanish-English interpreter, and at the shelter, I assist with daily operational tasks for the residents and the facility staff. I got involved with this work because of my own background: as the child of a Mexican immigrant, I’ve been translating documents for my family for as long as I can remember. Being an interpreter lets me extend that same support to my broader community. Likewise, my work at the shelter comes from a similar place—having experienced housing insecurity in high school, I wanted to support people facing stressors similar to those my family has faced.
Although my Mexican heritage gave rise to a few opportunities to view Catholicism, Judaism remained paramount in my household in childhood. Leaving home meant coming across the immense presence of Christianity in the United States. For the past five years since leaving home, I have not, until this summer, taken the time to understand its cultural significance and the role it (or any religion) might play in my future work as a physician.
Beginning with the clinic, I found prayer to be an extremely cogent conclusion to the typical doctor-patient physician interaction. The clinic with which I spent most of my time this summer was a Christian clinic, but accepted patients and volunteers of all faiths. Most visits I assisted with ended with the question of an optional prayer, created and offered by the provider. I had never performed a prayer with the word “Jesus” in it (let alone one in English), but my role had me directly translating it. As I translated each word, I would see a sizable shift in their emotional composure. Some of our patients faced tremendous stressors, with our clinic being one of their only places of release. I remember a patient whose words evolved into sobs after the prayer, which eventually progressed into palpable gratitude and even hope. This did not happen infrequently, and I remain very moved by these moments. This solidified the role of religion in medicine for me, and future steps involve gaining a greater understanding of the many religions in the United States and their implications in healthcare and day-to-day life, as well as understanding what its role would look like for me as a practicing physician.
As for well-being, I turned to understanding translational housing. The shelter I was assisting was outright not religiously affiliated. This was consistently kept in mind when interacting with the guests, and any mention of religiosity came from the guests themselves. Unlike the clinic, religiosity in this space did not linearly translate to hope, with a more complex relationship arising instead. At the shelter, I was able to get more time with each individual, as opposed to the clinic, and I gained a much more nuanced view of the role of faith in the lives of some people on a day-to-day level. I also learned plenty from Christian colleagues and supervisors, who very graciously answered my more direct questions. Additionally, many volunteers who would host events or bring dinner for the shelter came from religious organizations, so hearing their motivations provided me with insight as well. Out of this experience, I lack a complete understanding of how faith can show up in difficult times, but am thankful to have obtained this valuable insight.
Moreover, I spent part of the summer exploring religiosity in Durham. I spoke frequently with Imam Waheed, who was the first Muslim Chaplain at Duke, and he gave me a profound understanding of the history of Islam in Durham. I also had the honor of sitting in on the service of the first American church I have been to, attending the Won Buddhism Temple of North Carolina, and learning about Hinduism at the Hindu Society of North Carolina. I cherish every one of these experiences, but I merely scratched the surface, and future research on these and other religions’ role in Durham must continue to be explored. After these visits, Durham’s history became incredibly important to me, and I continue to pursue literature on this topic (thank you DUL!).
I am deeply grateful to the Duke University Libraries Summer Research Grant for providing me with the financial support to pursue this meaningful research, with an underscored gratitude for the ability to keep a roof over my head and have a consistent food supply this summer. The mentorship provided by this program was like no other. Rukimani Prathivadhibhayankaram, the graduate student mentor of the program, truly demonstrated care and a passion for helping students be successful after their time at Duke. She understood that low-income students like me don’t have the resources of other students, and she made sure to fill that gap. She provided connections to alumni and students accepted to medical school, input on the current status of my application, and overall simply encouragement that I haven’t heard from anyone in a long time.
My advice to anyone who is interested in pursuing a similar research project is to just dive in. Let your curiosity guide you. If your research is also in Durham, you should know that this research has guided me to some of the friendliest and most caring people I have ever met. The best way to learn is to do, and it doesn’t hurt to help people in the process.
Thank you to the LIFE Grant Committee for this opportunity. It has been one of the most impactful experiences during my time at Duke.
The post LIFE Summer Research Grant Reflections: Living Faith in Durham, From Healthcare to Housing appeared first on Duke University Libraries Blogs.
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