SAS Section - Summer Research Exchange Mentorship Program

Student pharmacist researchers in lab.

AACP Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) Section

2023 Program

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) Section Summer Research Exchange Mentorship Program application cycle for 2023 is now open. A list of 2023 projects can be found below. The program is intended to foster interest in research and SAS-related graduate education among student pharmacists and is open to current/upcoming P1-P3 students.

Program Components and Application Criteria
  • Student participants will complete an 8 to 12-week summer research experience between May 15th and August 31st with a SAS faculty member outside their home institution, building their professional network and skills for residency, fellowship, and further graduate studies.
  • The program this year will be virtual.
  • Students who will begin P4 rotations during Summer 2023 are not eligible to apply.
  • Applications undergo a review process and students are selected for the program and matched with a research mentor outside their home institution on a competitive basis.

For the 2023 program, the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education will once again be offering $2500 scholarships for 5 especially meritorious applications to support student pharmacists as they pursue research with host mentors outside of their home institutions. Not all students admitted to the exchange program will receive a scholarship. The number of students admitted to the program is limited by the number of research mentors available. Each year, a cohort of approximately 20-30 students is admitted into the program; of these students, 5 are selected to receive the AFPE scholarship based on merit. 

Students considering applying to the exchange program should be prepared to commit approximately one hour per week to meeting virtually with their research mentor, with additional time allocated to completion of research activities at the discretion of the mentor.  Although not required, the majority of students go on to present the results of their summer projects at national conferences. A final report describing the summer research activities is required for all students. 

Interested students should complete the program application and upload a copy of their Curriculum Vitae (CV). One letter of recommendation from a home school mentor/advisor is also required; mentors will be contacted with instructions for uploading their letter upon submission of a complete application. The application and all materials must be submitted by March 31, 2023. Program and award decisions will be sent out in early May 2023.

Submit Your Application

2023 Project List

Research Mentor Program Length Program Dates Brief Description
Lindsey Hohmann, Auburn University  8 weeks June 1-July 31 Survey or literature review on the topic of substance misuse (opioids or other drugs of abuse).
Qian Ding, Ferris State University 12 weeks June 1 - Aug 31 Several topics including: 1) explore the medication safety of multi-dose packages in nursing homes; or 2) compare the multi-dose packages and identify the risk factors regarding to the packaging design.
Prashant Sakharkar, Roosevelt University 8 weeks June 1 - July 31 Use of large secondary publicly available databases to assess health outcomes among populations with chronic health conditions.
Nathaniel Marc Rickles, University of Connecticut 12 weeks Flexible; June 1-August 31 Several topics including: 1) assessing effect of opioid packaging on patient outcomes; 2) the role of interprofessional student teams in health districts/health departments in carrying out substance use prevention work; 3) the role of personality in medication adherence; or 4) pharmacists' impact on administering Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics. 
Gladys Ekong, Western New England University  8 weeks June 15 - Aug 15 Literature review and data analysis to assess effective behavioral interventions for diabetes prevention and management among young adults.
Natalie Hohmann, Auburn University            8 weeks June 1 - July 31 Survey to investigate communication preferences of family caregivers of people living with dementia and Alzheimer's.
Abby A. Kahaleh, Roosevelt University 8 weeks June 1 - July 28 Systematic literature reviews on student’s topic of interest.
Ruth Jeminiwa, Thomas Jefferson University 8 weeks May 15 - July 18 A literature review on the outcomes of medication-assisted treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorders. 
Natalia Shcherbakova, Western New England University  8 weeks June 26 - Aug 14 Using content analysis and computer programming algorithms to assess patient reviews of pharmacies. 
Rafia Rasu, University of North Texas Health Science Center 8 weeks Flexible; May 15 - Aug 31 Hypothesis generation and write-up on student’s topic of interest related to health outcomes. 
Fatimah Sherbeny, Florida A&M University  8 weeks  July 3 - Aug 25 Several topics including: 1) analysis of drug utilization patterns using large secondary databases; 2) analysis of sociobehavioral factors related to medication adherence; or 3) survey development on student’s topic of interest.
Delesha Carpenter, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy 12 weeks May 15 - July 31 Survey on harm reduction services being offered by rural community pharmacies that are part of the Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP), which is the first practice-based research network for rural pharmacies.
Motolani Ogunsanya, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center  12 weeks June 1 - Aug 31 Several topics including: 1) mobile health (mHealth) technology in psychosocial oncology for ethnically-diverse Black prostate cancer survivors; 2) qualitative grounded theory approach to develop a conceptual model for ethnically-diverse Black prostate cancer survivors; or 3) validation of a rare, skin disease-specific quality of life instrument
Hoai-An Truong, University of Maryland Eastern Shore 8-12 weeks June 1 - Aug 31 Perceptions and readiness of pharmacists in emergency preparedness and response, as well as digital and telehealth.
Robert C. Haight, University of North Texas Health Science Center 12 weeks June 1 - Aug 31 Survey on the aspects and domains of leadership that students possess and how pedagogy may contribute to leadership development.
Edward Chiyaka, Wingate University 8 weeks May 15 - July 15 Systematic literature review to identify the types of pharmacist-led interventions in the US that are most effective in improving hypertension control, and to evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions in improving hypertension control.

 

2022 Scholarship Recipients:

  • Valerie Wasem, Touro University California College of Pharmacy – host mentor Elizabeth Unni, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York
  • Minh-Hanh Nguyen, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy – host mentor Gladys Ekong, Western New England University 
  • Jess Fairbanks, University of Wisconsin-Madison – host mentor Jon Schommer, University of Minnesota

2022 Participants:

  • Grace Brown, Ohio Northern University – host mentor Natalie Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Sindy Canales, University of Charleston – host mentor Elizabeth Unni, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York
  • Daisy Doan, Texas Tech University – host mentor Lindsey Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Jess Fairbanks, University of Wisconsin-Madison – host mentor Jon Schommer, University of Minnesota
  • Fatima Farrukh, University of the Sciences – host mentor Akesha Edwards, University of Findlay
  • Katrina Gwilt, Wingate University – host mentor Ruth Jeminiwa, Thomas Jefferson University
  • Hannah Higgins, University of the Sciences – host mentor, Lindsey Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Lam Ho, Auburn University – host mentor Sun Lee, High Point University
  • Marquise Jeffery, Creighton University – host mentor Prashant Sakharkar, Roosevelt University
  • Jesslin Jose, University of the Sciences – host mentor Nate Rickles, University of Connecticut
  • Morteza Kaveh, University of Tennessee – host mentor Shane Desselle, Touro University California
  • Taylor Kissel, University of Tennessee – host mentor Abby Kahaleh, Roosevelt University
  • Amanda Lee, University of the Pacific – host mentor Gladys Ekong, Western New England University
  • WeiQi Li, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York – host mentor Albert Wertheimer Nova Southeastern University
  • Yun Shiuan Lin, Northeastern University – host mentor Abby Kahaleh, Roosevelt University
  • Josephine Ariella Lovings, Wingate University – host mentor Lindsey Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Minh-Hanh Nguyen, University of Charleston – host mentor Gladys Ekong, Western New England University
  • Angella Nwoye, Long Island University – host mentor Shane Desselle, Touro University California
  • Emily Oliver, Auburn University – host mentor Qian Ding, Ferris State University
  • Andrea Perez, The University of Texas at El Paso – host mentor Radhika Devraj, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Khanh Phuong Truong, University of Charleston – host mentor Prashant Sakharkar, Roosevelt University
  • Loryn Walker, University of the Sciences – host mentor Nate Rickles, University of Connecticut
  • Kelsey Waruszewski, University of Arizona – host mentor Natalie Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Valerie Wasem, Touro University California – host mentor Elizabeth Unni, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York
  • Katelyn Witherspoon, UNC Chapel Hill – host mentor Natalie Hohmann, Auburn University
  • Ashley Woodyard, Touro University California – host mentor Jon Schommer, University of Minnesota
  • Yuki Yang, UNC Chapel Hill – host mentor Akesha Edwards, University of Findlay