The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship recently named seven USC students to its 2013-14 class of Los Angeles Schweitzer Fellows.

The USC honorees, who will spend the next year learning to effectively address the social factors that impact health, and developing lifelong leadership skills, are:

• Victoria Cho, School of Pharmacy

• Nicole Coppage, Keck School of Medicine

• Kelly Jones, Keck School of Medicine

• Alyson Kil, Keck School of Medicine

• Ingrid Leu, Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

• Meghan Ward, Keck School of Medicine

• Yun-Ju Yoo, Ostrow School of Dentistry

Los Angeles Schweitzer Fellowship Program Director John K. Su said the fellows will spend the next year designing and implementing a range of projects benefitting underserved communities “that will address the root causes of health inequities … while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities.”

Their projects — each of which is set in a community-based organization that serves vulnerable populations — are expected to make measurable differences on issues ranging from childhood literacy to diabetes to behavioral health, he said.

For example, Coppage will work with Homeboy Industries to inform previously gang-involved and incarcerated women and men about chronic diseases, how to access health care, and available community resources. Cho will inform older Chinese adults about polypharmacy — the use of multiple medications by a patient — and how cultural remedies affect prescribed medications.

USC students were among 20 selected in the Los Angeles region and among 220 students selected nationally.