Princeton University students are getting out of the classroom and onto the frontlines of community health – just two miles away from campus.

Since 2025, Zufall Health–Plainsboro – located within Penn Medicine Princeton Health – has partnered with Princeton’s “Mind, Body, and Culture: Clinical Psychology,” an undergraduate course offered through the university’s Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES). Taught by Shirley Wang, PhD, the course examines how social, behavioral, and cultural factors shape human behavior and our understanding of mental health. Students explore how their own values and assumptions — along with societal structures like the health care system — influence perceptions of mental and physical well-being. Wang’s goal is to build cultural competence in diagnosis, treatment, and research among her students.

As part of their final project, students spend time immersed in the work of a local community partner organization. At Zufall, they see their coursework come to life through an integrated model that brings medical, behavioral health, and substance use disorder services together under one roof.

Last fall, the Princeton cohort – comprised of pre-med and psychology majors – toured the Plainsboro health center, developed patient-facing materials on mental health and substance use, and presented their work directly to Zufall providers and staff.

“Working with the Princeton students has been a rewarding experience for our whole team,” said Patricia Kao, MD, Pediatrician and Clinical Director at Zufall Health – Plainsboro, who supervises the students with Staff Nurse Reina Garcia Perfecto, RN. “They came in with genuine curiosity and a real willingness to listen — not just to the clinical side of care, but to the cultural and social factors that shape how our patients experience health. The materials they developed were thoughtful and immediately useful, and it’s clear this partnership is shaping how these future clinicians and researchers think about patient-centered care.”

The students are pictured above with Zufall Pediatrician Kathleen Riewe, MD (third from left), Staff Nurse Reina Garcia Perfecto, RN (fifth from left), Pediatrician and Clinical Director Patricia Kao, MD (fifth from right), Physician Assistant Benjamin Kim, PA-C (third from right), and Family Medicine Physician Samantha D’souza, MD (second from right).

Zufall Health is grateful to the Princeton students for bringing their ideas and academic training into the community, and looks forward to welcoming a new cohort later this fall.

Learn more about this partnership in the newly published “Regional Impact Map” highlighting how Princeton University’s academic programs contribute to the broader community.