research titles for pharmacy students

Completed Thesis Projects

Omokhodion Eriakha — Beliefs and Factors that Influence Intentions to Initiate Antihypertensive Medications

Saara Nasruddin — New Pharmacist Practitioner Experiences of Listening and Responding to Patient-Driven Misinformation  Prachi Prajapati — Impact of Cardiovascular and Mental Health Comorbidities on All-Cause Healthcare Utilization among Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Emily Gravlee — Naloxone Accessibility Across Mississippi

Saumil Jadhav — Acceptability and Feasibility of Healthcare Communication Consideration for Altering Perceptions toward Influenza Vaccine: A Qualitative Study

Shishir Maharjan — Opioid Tapering and Mental Health Crisis in Older Adults

Irene Nsiah  — Factors Influencing Postpartum Contraception Uptake

Queenie Paltanwale — Understanding Attitudes Towards Deprescribing Among Older Adults with Osteoporosis

Wesley Sparkmon — Community Pharmacist Perceptions of Increased Technician Responsibility

Ian Freeman — The Association between Patient Characteristics and Use of Statin and Metformin among Elderly Women with Breast Cancer and Diabetes

Sonam Nair — Facilitators and Barriers to Biosimilar Adoption: A Systematic Review of the Global Stakeholder Perspective

David Allen III — Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS): Reasons for Use and Associated Factors in Self-Selected Nicotine Concentrations

Siddhi Korgaonkar — Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Non-Vitamin K Antagonists Oral Anticoagulants and Warfarin in Elderly Patients with Non-Valvular Artial Fibrillation and Diabetes

Chukwuebuka Dibie — Predictors of Dental Opioid Analgesic Prescribing, Opioid Use and Dental Emergency Department Visits in the Mississippi Medicaid Population

Yiqiao Zhang — Opioid Use for Treatment of Acute Pain among Children and Adolescents enrolled in Mississippi Medicaid

Ashley Crumby — The Decision to Pursue Pharmacy Residency Training: Motivators, Barriers, and the Fear of Missing Out

Neeri Wahidullah — Predictors of Medication Nonadherence in Children/Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Mississippi Medicaid Program

Kaustuv Bhattacharya — Burden of Depression among Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients Enrolled in National Medicaid

Nicholas Keeling — Payer Perspectives on Preemptive Pharmacogenetic Testing

Sasikiran Nunna —  Biological and Psychosocial Risk Factors of Stroke in African Americans Enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS)

Tristen Jackson —  Primary Care Providers’ Provision of Therapeutic Lifestyle Change Counseling for Patients with Cardiovascular Risk

Sujith Ramachandran — Determining Physician and Patient Characteristics that Predict the Use of Atypical Antipsychotics Children with Mental Health Disorders

Divya Verma — Impact of Refill Synchronization Medication Adherence for Chronic Disease

James Parrett — Pharmacists’ Preparedness for Acute Medical Emergencies

Ruchitbhai Shah — Community Pharmacists’ Attitudes Toward an Expanded Class of Nonprescription Drugs

Sai Dharmarajan — Case-Mix Adjustment of Adherence Based Pharmacy Quality Indicator Scores

Namita Joshi — Factors Affecting Community Pharmacy Owners’ Attitudes toward and Likelihood to Adopt RxSync Service

Tasneem Lokhandwala — Do statins improve outcomes in patients with asthma on inhaled corticosteroid therapy? A retrospective analysis of the Mississippi Medicaid database 2002-2004

Hafiz Oko-Osi — Market Response to FDA Safety Warnings: A Case Study Using an Interrupted Time Series Analysis of the Medicare Database for 2006-2008

Tushar Padwal — An Examination of Factors Influencing the Program Choice of Graduate Students in the Pharmaceutical Sciences

Zainab Shahpurwala — Pharmacy-level Quality Measures and the Consumer: Preferences and Attitudes

Sumit Verma — The Strategic Value Driver Model: A Methodology For Examining Value Drivers For A New Pharmaceutical Product In Diabetes

Amod Athavale — The Measurement of Pharmacy Loyalty and its Use in the Development of Marketing Strategies for the RxSync Service™

Ram Sankar Basak — Willingness to Influence Indication-Based Off-Label Prescribing: An Investigation of Hospital Pharmacies

Krutika Jariwala — Factors that Physicians Find Encouraging and Discouraging about Electronic Prescribing: A Quantitative Study

Clive Mendonca — Product-Specific and Disease-Specific Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising (DTCA): An Investigation of Post-Exposure Information Search Behavior

Kyle Null — Consumer Acceptance of Health-Related Technologies:  Incorporating Perceived Health Risk into the Technology Acceptance Model

Vennela Thumula — Type 2 Diabetes in Children: Estimates of Epidemiology, Quality of Care, Costs and Resource Utilization in a Medicaid Population

Leonardo Torres — Pharmacists’ Rating of Relevance of Available Information in Deciding the Validity of Opioid Medication Prescriptions

Philip Schwab — Cigarette Sales in Pharmacy: An Examination of the Relationship Value of Customers Who Purchase Cigarettes in Retail Pharmacies

Gayatri Gopal — Examining the Influence of Perceived Risk, Perceived Variability, and Confidence on Consumers Intentions to Seek OTC Medication Advice from Health Professionals

Su Bunniran — Examining Attributions of Blame and Consumer Trust Following Market Withdrawal of a Pharmaceutical Product

Nekshan Jalnawala — A Study of the Influence of Detail Message Characteristics on Physicians’ Beliefs about Medications and Credibility

Doug Paul — Pharmaceutical Marketers’ Perceptions of the Benefits and Drivers of the First-Mover Advantage in Pharmaceutical Markets: An Exploratory Study

Ravi Sadasivan — The Effect of Visual Images in Printed Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Medications on External Information Search

William Lobb — The Effect of a School of Origin Variable on the Traditional Predictors and Prediction of Undergraduate Pharmacy Students’ Academic Performance

Mansi Shah — Effects of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on the Quality of the Patient-Physician Relationship

Kornkanok Arntson — Determinants of Influence: An Investigation of Pharmacist Activity in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee

James Blake Thompson — College Preparation for Pharmaceutical Sales Careers

Saurabh S. Sewak — Cybermarketing of Pharmaceuticals: A Case for Style Over Substance?

Vivek Kaisare — An Exploratory Investigation of the Potential for Direct-to-Consumer Advertising in the Type 2 Diabetes Market

Joseph Keith Bonnarens — Determining the Level of Patient Care Specialty Service Development and Entrepreneurial Characteristics Present in Independent Community Pharmacy

Donna Sue West — Information Technologies in Community Pharmacy Practice

Alicia Corrine Sanders Bouldin — Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Herbal Medicines: A Descriptive Study

John Paul Bentley — A Study of the Feasibility of the Utilization of Health Related Quality of Life Instruments in the Community Pharmacy Settings

Ram Mohan Chukkapalli — Consumer Self-Medication Behavior: the Influence of Different Factors on Consumer’s Purchase Decisions in the Selection of OTC Analgesics

For thesis project titles prior to 1995, please see the Department History page .

Pharmacy Administration Student Discusses His Academic Journey

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Annual showcase highlights pharmacy student research projects; winners announced

With subjects as varied as arthritis, cancer, vitamin D deficiency, diabetes and influenza, along with many more, dozens of URI College of Pharmacy students showed off their research projects during the annual Student Research Showcase in the lobby of Avedisian Hall April 26.

Faculty members reviewed the research and issued awards for the top projects in each department. See a gallery of all winners below. Award winners include:

Doctor of Pharmacy Pharm.D.:

• 1st place: Meryl Coriell, Aminah Islam, Annabel La, Christine Mason, and Alexandria O’Brien
• 2nd place: MacKenzie Dolan, Maxwell McGuire, Samantha Meyer, Scott Mitchell, and Katie Scroggs
• 3rd place: Nicole Arnold, Kattelyn Blake, Madi Hartling, Mahnoor Awa Shahzad, and Emma Van Reysen

Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science (BSPS)

• 1st place: Danielle Burge
• 2nd place: Elliyas Delaire, Evan Keough, Gavin Borges, Jake deBouver, and Liam Kennings
• 3rd place: Liam Patel, and Jeily S. Mendez Alvarado

Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science

• 1st place: Colleen Hayes
• 2nd place: Suburna Das
• 3rd place: Sydney Bartman

Post-Doctoral Fellows

• 1st place: Katherine Houlihan
• 2nd place: Janitha Unagolla
• 3rd place: Elvia Mena Avila

Avedisian Hall 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI 02881 View Map [email protected] p: 401.874.2761  |  f: 401.874.2181

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Top five research articles of 2020

Despite the significant challenges this year has posed, The Pharmaceutical Journal  has continued to publish high-quality peer-reviewed research.

Our researchers have made a range of investigations — from evaluating pharmacist interventions using the Simpler tool in Malaysia , to a pharmacist-led virtual thiopurine clinic to support people with inflammatory bowel disease and auto-immune hepatitis, here in the UK.

We have some exciting research coming up in 2021, but in case you missed them the first time around, here are the top five most popular research articles of 2020:

5. Misuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to obtain illicit highs: how pharmacists can prevent abuse

Use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs for recreational purposes is increasing, and this perspective article collates the existing literature to provide an in-depth overview of the misuse and diversion of a range of drugs with psychoactive potential, including gabapentinoids, antihistamine drugs and loperamide.

4. Effective detection and management of hypertension through community pharmacy in England

Community pharmacists can play a big role in managing hypertension — from the identification of medication-related problems, to providing lifestyle advice. Despite this, they are not routinely involved in structured hypertension management or screening programmes. So, this review summarises the evidence to recommend the roll-out of a community pharmacy-led hypertension management service.

3. Recent advances in the oral delivery of biologics

Oral administration of medicines is often preferred by patients for its convenience, but, for biologics, the gastrointestinal tract poses challenges for administering in this way. This review discusses the advantages and limitations of several novel drug delivery strategies, and highlights the work to be done to put this technology into clinical practice.

2. Immuno-oncology agents for cancer therapy

Immuno-oncology is a novel treatment that works by conditioning the body’s immune cells to recognise and kill cancer cells — combining this treatment with conventional therapies has led to promising improvements in patient outcomes. This review looks at the range of immuno-oncology agents, and how problems such as their toxicity and high cost can be overcome.

1. Investigational treatments for COVID-19

The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in a global research effort to find effective treatment options to relieve healthcare burdens and, ultimately, save lives. In June 2020, this rapid review summarised the clinical trials and treatment evidence at the time.

Check out The Pharmaceutical Journal’ s   ‘Everything you should know about the coronavirus outbreak’ for the latest on this continually evolving situation.

Find the full catalogue of articles in our research section .

Call for submissions

In 2021, The Pharmaceutical Journal will keep adding to the evidence base with review, perspective and research articles. If you have undertaken research into innovations and initiatives that can improve pharmacy services and administration, the pharmacological management of disease, or advances in drug development, please submit your article for consideration by email to: [email protected]

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• Welcome to Student Tools

Pharmd Projects

College of pharmacy, pharmd students at the university of utah college of pharmacy from the class of 2019 forward are required to complete a capstone research project during their third and fourth years. the purpose of the project is to help students transition from consumers to producers of knowledge. completion of a project will enable the student to develop many key skills: professional writing, formal presenting, critical thinking, literature evaluation, project management, data collection, data analysis, and others..

Accepting Submissions

If you have an idea for a research project you would be interested in advising and that would  benefit you , you can submit your proposal by clicking the link below. Each Fall (September-January), we collect ideas for students to complete during the following two academic years. We accept proposals from a wide range of partners in addition to the College of Pharmacy faculty, including School of Medicine faculty, College of Nursing faculty, community and clinical pharmacists, public health officials, and others.  You are welcome to share this form with anyone who you think would be qualified and interested in advising a student research project.

PharmD students interested in proposing their own project should look for a mentor to advise the project, and then submit a proposal with that mentor. On the proposal, the mentor will list the student he or she plans to work with. Mentors and students who are already working together can also indicate this on the form.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact  Craig Henchey  or  Dan Witt .

Qualities of a Good PharmD Project:

• Feasible to complete in 1-2 years
• Financially feasible (see “Project Funding” below)
• Clear pathway to data acquisition and analysis
• Straight-forward methodology
• Sufficiently Focused – few variables and specific aims
• Potential to generate or support future research
• Mentor invested in project success and completion
• Strategically aligned with needs of the Mentor

Recent Projects

111 Pharmacy Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on pharmacy, 🌶️ hot pharmacy essay topics, 👍 good pharmacy research topics & essay examples, 💡 simple pharmacy essay ideas, 🎓 most interesting pharmacy research titles.

• Pharmacy as a Professional Field and Its History
• Pharmacy: A Career Pathway
• Asthma: Pharmacology and Medicines Management
• The Competitiveness of Saudi Pharmaceutical Industry
• Pharmaceutical Companies and Utilitarian Ethics
• Reverse Logistics in Pharmaceutical Industry: Handling Products Back to the Manufacturer
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy vs. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council
• Distribution Chain in the Pharmaceutical Industry International pharma trade is subject to government regulations, limiting the distribution of exported raw materials to ensure safety and prevent contamination.
• Database Design Proposal for Pharmaceutical Products Project is crucial for healthcare professionals to realize all the DDIs and avoid prescription errors. The database is useful for hospital managers to control substance use.
• CVS Pharmacy’s Strategic Plan of Expansion The strategic plan of CVS Pharmacy includes opening its stores worldwide, meaning going out of the USA borders.
• Pharmaceutical Advertising is Propaganda This paper has shown through a discussion that pharmaceutical advertising can be propaganda or informative and helpful to the life of a patient.
• CVS Pharmacy Inc. SWOT Analysis The paper is a SWOT analysis of CVS Company to understand the various factors, both internal and external, that affect its operations and how they could be used.
• Retail and Supply Chain in the Pharmaceutical Industry Retail is the result of work to optimize B2B strategy and logistics. The pharmaceutical industry has become a classic business that increases sales and revenue from customers.
• Pharmaceutical Industry: Drug Development Drug development is a lengthy process but rightly so since the result should be playing a curative role and not disease inducer.
• Ranitidine Medication’s Pharmaceutical Analysis Ranitidine has been shown to be an effective treatment for DUs and GUs, GERD, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and pyrosis when used at appropriate dosage levels and frequency.
• Pharmacology and Influence of Antibiotics Throughout the essay, both the fundamental conceptual concepts of science and the science-based properties of drugs are described.
• Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Management: Operational Plan Due to the specificity of its activity, a healthcare organization tends to require a pharmaceutical supplier which provides medicines to be vended in the facility.
• PharmaCARE: Product Safety & Intellectual Property Using the case of PharmaCARE, this paper discusses legal and ethical considerations in marketing and advertising, product safety, and intellectual property.
• Drug Testing in Pharmacology The aim of this paper is to analyze and review drug tests within the population of third-world countries and define whether these trials are ethical.
• Researching Retail Pharmacy Retail pharmacies are on the leading edge of rendering health care services to patients after the pharmacist has filled the consumer’s drug.
• Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company and Its Market Relations The main aim of the Pfizer Company is to make the medicine accessible to all, and it works in this direction.
• Animal Use in Pharmacology: Negative Effects on Humans and Animals The use of the animal to develop drugs for humans may result in the manufacture of harmful medicines. The substances used to manufacture the drugs have adverse impacts on animals.
• Pharmacology Transcribe: Explore More The take away for this teachable explore more is that I want you to remember medications that are on medication list, and what are they for.
• Good Manufacturing Practices for Pharmaceuticals Creating conditions for the safe production of pharmaceuticals is a practice that has evolved significantly due to the introduction of modern approaches to the manufacturing process.
• Outsourcing in the Pharmaceutical Industry Technology is the powerful force that now drives the world toward a single converging commonality. No place and nobody is insulated from the alluring attractions of modernity.
• Pharmacology: Drug Licensing Opportunity Obtaining a license for a new drug is a very costly and time consuming affair. Any pharmaceutical company would have to weigh all its options before embarking on such a process.
• Evidence-Based Pharmacology: Major Depression In this paper, a certain attention to different treatment approaches that can be offered to patients with depression will be paid, including the evaluation of age implications.
• Toxicological Evidence in Forensic Pharmacology Forensic toxicology entails the analysis of stains and drugs found in fluids and solid materials collected from a crime scene. Numerous methods are used in a toxicological analysis.
• Comparison of the Pharmacy Laws This paper aims to compare two laws related to the operation of pharmacies – the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the Texas Pharmacy Act.
• Importance of Compliance Procedures in Pharmacy Compliance procedures have been instituted in the pharmaceutical industry as a measure to foster professionalism in the practice of pharmacy and also to ensure public safety.
• New Pharmaceuticals and Their Path to the Market When a new pharmaceutical is invented, several steps need to be taken to bring it to the market. Effective marketing is preceded by primarily drug development and manufacturing.
• Pharmaceutical Industries: Changes and Challenges Pharmaceutical industries are responsible for the manufacture of drugs. Like any other industry that we know, they aim at making profits.
• The Environmental Condition of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry Pharmaceutical industry presently undergoes a sluggish growth with the intensification of pricing policies, sluggish growth of prescription drugs.
• Using Testing as a Learning Tool: Pharmaceutical Education The presentation about medication errors was introduced to new nurses and nursing students at the progressive care unit of the local hospital in Dallas.
• How Pharmaceutical Patents Create a Monopoly A breakdown of reasons why pharmaceutical corporations deserve patent rights, alongside potential negative effects associated with them, form the basis of this paper.
• Flagyl ER: Pharmacological Characteristics Flagyl ER is one of the medications that use metronidazole as an active component for the treatment of bacterial, parasitic, and protozoal infections.
• Metformin in Pharmaceuticals and Medicine Metformin stimulates glycogen formation and improves the transmission capacities of all varieties of membrane glucose carriers by interacting with glycogen synthase.
• Pharmacology Research: Cyclophosphamide The paper discusses Cyclophosphamide. It is a widely used chemotherapeutic prodrug that treats different types of cancer in a wide range of patient populations.
• Cloud Technology Innovation in Pharmaceutical Company Digital technology facilitates the storage of records and access to databases, but with each passing year, using physical hard drives becomes less efficient.
• Fibromyalgia Pharmacological Management Antidepressants and anti-seizure medications can be more effective for fibromyalgia treatment. It is vital to know about the side effects of medications to ensure patients’ safety.
• Why Pharmaceutical Industry Is High-Tech and Knowledge-Intensive Pharmaceuticals is one of the most high-tech and knowledge-intensive industries in the global economy, which is determined by three groups of interrelated factors.
• The Profound Knowledge of Pharmacology The successful absorption of the drug depends on various aspects. The profound knowledge of pharmacology allows for gaining more rapid treatment results.
• Acupuncture vs. Standard Pharmacological Therapy for Migraine Prevention The current paper aims to compare the efficiency of managing migraines by employing acupuncture and pharmacotherapy clinical processes.
• Merck’s Pharmaceutical Company Ethical Dillema The dilemma raised by Merck’s management is defined by two outcomes: the pharmaceutical company invest money in unsound project or have abandoned because of disproportionality.
• Unpatented Pharmaceuticals for American Public The pharmaceutical industry is greatly influenced by the registration of intellectual property rights for a product that has been manufactured.
• Acupuncture vs. Standard Pharmacological Therapy for Migraine Prevention “Systematic Review: Acupuncture vs. Standard Pharmacological Therapy for Migraine Prevention” is a study conducted by Zhang.
• Microeconomics Case Analyses in Pharmacology This paper examines the pharmaceutical industry using the theory and models of industry structure and Pfizer’s make-or-buy decision for developing and producing its COVID vaccine.
• Aspirin: Vascular Pharmacology Aspirin is one of the most used medications worldwide, with its history going back to 1897. It is a plant-based drug made out of salicylic acid.
• Interaction of the Pharmaceuticals with Alcohol Intake It is important to establish the key value of healthy living based on the interaction with the pharmaceuticals and alcohol intake to avoid developing a dependency on the elements
• Advanced Pharmacology: Arthritis Treatment Arthritis is more regular among aging adults, though it can be diagnosed in any other person irrespective of age, including children.
• Marriage and Family Therapy and Pharmacological Treatment The notion of marriage and family counseling presupposes a sophisticated process during which professionals are to adopt an integrative approach to the therapy.
• Major Depressive Disorder: Pharmacological Treatment SSRIs are effective first-line treatment for MDD. This class of medications includes many antidepressants with comparable effectiveness in treating this disorder.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Pharmacological Treatment Approved medications can help treat PTSD symptoms and improve patient outcomes. SSRIs, such as sertraline, have been shown to reduce anxiety and increase concentration.
• Economics for Pharmaceutical Companies The paper discusses pharmaceuticals. They are an industry that is doing well financially due to the patents and exclusive rights they enjoy due to their developments.
• Pharmaceutical Science: Vicodin The aim of report on the drug known as Vicodin to highlight the truth in relation to its position and verify the truth behind claims made in reports such as Herper’s.
• Drug Release: Ethical Dilemma in Pharmaceutics A moral issue has emerged as to whether a pharmaceutical company has to release a new drug or not. This drug is thought to be an effective treatment of depression.
• Pharmacology: Uses of Albuterol and β2-Adrenergic Agonist This paper is aimed at reviewing research articles aimed at studying the use of albuterol and β2 adrenergic receptor agonist and defining the optimal frequency of its usage.
• National Pharmacy Technician Association One of the biggest global certified associations for pharmacy technicians is the National Pharmacy Technicians Association. This association was established in Houston, Texas.
• Accessing the Pharmacy Services: Safe Medication When receiving medication from a pharmacist, it is important to be aware of the extent of the pharmacist’s competency and their knowledge of the subject matter.
• Pharmaceuticals in the U.S.A. Analysis The purpose of the paper is to discuss the accessibility of medications to the population in the USA, their prices.
• Medical Pharmacology: Noradrenaline Effect on Vascular Rings Noradrenaline is a hormone produced as a catecholamine by the sympathetic neurons from the heart; it is mainly used as a neurotransmitter.
• Pharmacogenetics in Clinical Practice The improvements in the understanding of the effect of genetic differences on interpersonal variability in drug response contributed to the development of pharmacogenetics.
• Purdue Pharmaceutical Company’s OxyContin Opioid The adverse effects of OxyContin presuppose the development of addiction, deterioration of the overall state, and even death.
• Certification, Licensure, and Registration of Pharmacy Technicians The rules for certification, licensure, and registration of pharmacy technicians will be discussed in terms of the differences among these procedures with a focus on Texas laws.
• Genetics or New Pharmaceutical Article Within the Last Year Copy number variations (CNVs) have more impacts on DNA sequence within the human genome than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
• Heath Care – Impact on Pharmaceutical Companies The signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will demand that the Pharmaceutical industry align their practices within the guidelines of this legislation.
• Pharmaceutical Industry: Effective Market Strategy Effective market strategy greatly determines the successful performance of a business. A marketing strategy in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Ethics in Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Ethics in the medical and pharmaceutical industry is a vital component of providing quality services and developing products that will benefit the patients.
• Disease Pathology, Management, and Pharmacological Impact for Tularemia and Hantavirus The purpose of this paper is to describe disease pathology, management, and pharmacological impact for Tularemia and Hantavirus.
• Veteran Pharmaceutical: Cause and Effect Due to the economic crunch being experienced all over America and the whole world at large, there has been a decline in profits for Veteran in the last few months.
• Cialis Production: Pharmaceutical Review The case relates to a firm that is in the process of innovating and launching a new drug with the brand name Cialis in the market. The drug is aimed at treating impotence in men.
• System Approach to Organizational Change: Pharmacy Automation As per the discussion and analysis in the paper, it will be clear that the automation and networking in a pharmacy enables to expand its customer base thus increasing the business.
• The Concept of Pharmacogenetics: Brief Analysis The present paper includes a brief analysis of the concept of pharmacogenetics, that is the study of people’s genetically determined responses to some drugs.
• Medical Pharmacology: The Langendorff Experiment The Langendorff experiment aimed at using an ex vivo isolated rat heart preparation to demonstrate the pharmacological effects of two unknown drugs.
• Pharmacogenetics Characteristics and Development Pharmacogenetics is a relatively young branch of medical science, but it is supposed to have significant potential when it comes to the effectiveness of treatment methods.
• Vapi Pharmaceutical Firms: Strategies for Toxic Waste Disposal Vapi (India) pharmaceutical companies’ strategies on toxic waste products don’t satisfy and comply with laws and legislation on toxic waste management.
• Computerized Provider Order Entry in Pharmacology Computerized provider order entry is an information system that provides a possibility to digitally enter the patient data and chart.
• PharmaCARE: Ethical and Legal Issues The case of PharmaCARE entails a scenario of manipulating the intellectual property rights responsible for safeguarding the production rights of PharmaCARE.
• National Pharmacy: Mobilising Creativity and Innovation This paper is focused on utilising innovation and creativity theoretical models to improve the work environment at the National Pharmacy L.L.C.
• Pharmacy and Policy: Inappropriate Prescription of Drugs It is essential to develop a policy that would enable to reduce the practice of multiple drug prescriptions and eliminate excess financial and health costs associated with it.
• The UK Pharmaceutical Industry: International Business This article will discuss the international business opportunities and risks faced by the pharmaceutical industry in the UK.
• Lack of Leadership in Pharmaceutical and Medical Companies This document concentrates on pharmaceutical and medical companies. It describes and expounds the unethical instances that these companies encountered in the course of their activities.
• CVS Company’s Pharmacy Fulfillment Process The current fulfillment process at CVS seems to be overly complicated of the entrepreneurship to function efficiently and make sure that the customers’ needs are met adequately.
• Employee Engagement in Pharmacy Services Employee engagement illustrates willingness and desire of employees to give their best and outperform themselves daily, motivated to contribute to organizational success.
• Caffeine Use in Medicine and Pharmacy Caffeine is used is increasingly becoming popular. The authors of the published research article are distinguished researchers in the field of medicine and pharmacy.
• Turing Pharmaceuticals’ Unethical Price Hikes Turing Pharmaceuticals received so much media attention due to an overnight increase in the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750.
• Pharmacy Technician Career: Programs That Can Help People to Become a Good Pharmacy Technician It is possible to outline some existing programs which can help a person to become a good Pharmacy Technician in Oklahoma.
• PharmaCare Company Ethical Issues This paper presents a case study of PharmaCare, which is one of those companies that have been victims of ethical issues. It will consider the emerging marketing strategy.
• PharmaCARE Company Analysis: Stakeholders and Practices PharmaCARE is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, which has made a significant contribution to the development of drugs and treatment of diseases.
• Pharmacare Company Ethic and Corporate Responsibility This paper evaluates the ethical and corporate responsibility issues that arise in the scenario presented involving Pharmacare: ethical treatment of employees and whistle blowing.
• Deregulating the Pharmacy Market: The Case of Iceland and Norway
• Margins and Market Shares: Pharmacy Incentives for Generic Substitution
• Mission and Target Market of Rite Aid Pharmacy
• Pharmacy: Where Serving Others Is the Key to Success
• Weighing, Measuring and Compounding in Pharmacy
• Bringing the Gap That Exists in Pharmacy Communications
• Why Is the Pharmacy Profession Not Just a Four-Year Commitment?
• Pharmacy: Medicine and Motivating Factors
• Hospital Pharmacy Decisions, Cost Containment, and the Use of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
• Young Mothers and the Marketing of Pharmacy Services
• Overview of Intranet Pharmacy Information Systems
• Sales and Inventory System of a Pharmacy
• Pharmacy Data Integrity for Optimal Analytics
• Healing, Serving and Educating in Pharmacy
• Independent Pharmacy Gives Main Street American Service
• Generic Pharmacy Inventory and Point of Sale System
• Strategic Marketing Management for Boots the Pharmacy
• Tools for Hospital Pharmacy Process Improvement
• Chemical Principles for Pharmacy Technicians
• Why Did Walgreens Eventually Become America’s Leading Pharmacy?
• Strategic Risk Management for Llyods Pharmacy

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These essay examples and topics on Pharmacy were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 8, 2024 .

[100+] Pharmacy Research Topics For College Students With Free [Thesis Pdf] 2023

Are You Searching Research Topics For Pharmacy ,   Topics For Pharmacy Research Paper, Pharmacy Research Topics For Students, Research Topics Ideas For Pharmacy, Pharmacy Research Topics For Phd, Pharmacy Phd Topics. So You are at right place. At this website you can get lots of Pharmacy Research Topics for College Students,  Phd, Mphil, Dissertations, Thesis, Project, Presentation, Seminar or Workshop.

In this article we provide you latest research topics for Pharmacy with full Phd thesis. By these research topics for Pharmacy you can get idea for your research work.  Check the suggestions below that can help you choose the right research topics for Pharmacy : You can also Free Download Cyber Crime Research Phd Thesis in Pdf by given link.

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If you find any copyright content on this website and you have any objection than plz immediately connect us on [email protected]. We Will remove that content as soon as.

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Pharmacy Research Topics

Research Topic Ideas for Biology

Pharmacy research ideas encompasses a variety of topics dealing with drugs and pharmaceuticals. Some broad areas of pharmaceutical research relate to drug delivery, pharmaceutical cell biology, medicinal chemistry and medicine management. Faculty and graduate students at pharmaceutical colleges typically engage in such research, and some go on to develop new drugs and delivery methods.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

For students pursing doctorate degrees, pharmacy research offers many topics for a thesis, such as developing new drugs for cancer treatments, drug delivery methods, pharmaceutical cell biology and medicine management. Other topic ideas include plants as a source of medicinal products, interaction of drugs with RNA, synthetic medicines and many more.

Cancer Drug Studies

Cancer drug studies represent one type of pharmacological research topic. For instance, researchers study the role of steroid drugs in the growth of breast cancer. Other topics include the development of new cancer therapies and using targeted approaches for drug delivery to treat cancer. These types of studies aim to help patients deal with cancer and better handle the effects of cancer.

Drug Delivery

Another major topic for pharmacy research relates to drug delivery. One such research study at looks at the design and evaluation of drug delivery systems, emphasizing some methods of delivery such as liposomes and liquid crystals. Another research project studies the immediate environment of the lung, particularly how a person reacts to inflammatory stress and the use of drug treatments. Investigators use human lung epithelial cell culture for the study, studying humans as well as animals.

Pharmaceutical Cell Biology

Research in the area of pharmaceutical cell biology aims to understand basic cell biology and relate the findings to diseases in humans. Some such research projects in this area have dealt with topics such as inflammation processes in human disease, mechanisms for cell-to-cell communications and mechanisms of carcinogenesis. This sort of research is likely to involve close work with biologists who have similar research interests in these sorts of topics.

Medicine Management

Medicines management research looks into the cost effectiveness of new interventions that aim to improve the health of patients. Some of this research focuses on older people and on mental illness along with medicine management. These topics deal with the evaluation of pharmacist-led services, interventions that improve the adherence of medications, consultation skills, medication review services and interventions for reducing the problems that come about as a result of dysphagia.

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• University of Illinois at Chicago: Potential Topics-Options
• University of California San Francisco: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmagenomics

Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO

• Potential Research Projects

Research projects for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students are available within the following School of Pharmacy research areas and research centre. 

Please email our academic staff to discuss potential HDR projects and ask if they are available as an advisor for your proposed HDR program.

Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacometrics

Title: Implementing Pharmacogenomics into Community Pharmacy Practice to Personalise the Treatment of Depression Contact:  Associate Professor Chris Freeman

Title:  Developing pharmacokinetic models for immunosuppressants in solid organ transplant patients Contact:   Dr Christine Staatz

Title:  Improving the use of immunosuppressant agents in solid organ transplant patients Contact:   Dr Christine Staatz

Medication Use, Safety and Health Services Research

Title:  The ethics of pharmacogenomic testing in community pharmacy Contact:  Doctor Adam La Caze

Title: Pharmacy ethics and the opioid crisis Contact:  Doctor Adam La Caze

Title:  Improving the use of immunosuppressant agents in solid organ transplant patients Contact:   Dr Christine Staatz

Title:  Establishing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic models for antibiotics used in special paediatric populations Contact:   Dr Christine Staatz

Title:  Queensland Family Cohort (QFC) : Characterising medication usage within the perinatal-postnatal family environment Contact:   Dr Meng-Wong Taing

Title:  Pharmacy and oral healthcare Contact:   Dr Meng-Wong Taing

Pharmacoepidemiology, Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoeconomics

No projects currently available.

Biotherapeutic Delivery and Diagnostic Solutions

Title: Computer-aided design, synthesis and evaluation of targeted drug delivery systems Contact:   Dr Ben Ross

Title:  Engineering peptides and proteins as therapeutics Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Improving the delivery characteristics of protein / peptide drugs Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Deciphering the roles of post-translational modifications Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Recombinant, semisynthetic and synthetic vaccines Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Targeted delivery systems for RNAi and DNA delivery Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Enhancing the activity of antimicrobial agents Contact:   Dr Peter Moyle

Title:  Engineering nanostructures and nanomedicines using supercritical fluid technology Contact:   Dr James Falconer

Title:  Improving delivery of challenging to formulate bioactives using advanced delivery systems Contact:   Dr James Falconer

Title:  Discovery of new drugs from indigenous Australian plants using supercritical fluids Contact:   Dr James Falconer

Title:  Design, construction, and development of supercritical fluid technology Contact:   Dr James Falconer

Title:  Characterisation of high pressure spray behaviour and bioactive Contact:   Dr James Falconer

Title:  Delivery of therapeutics to the posterior eye Contact:   Dr Harendra Parekh

Title:  Development of bioresponsive drug/gene carrier systems Contact:   Dr Harendra Parekh , Dr Karnaker Tupally

Title:  Bioresponsive porous silicon-polymer composite nano- and micro-particles for oral protein delivery Contact:   Dr Amirali Popat

Title:  Mesoproous silica nanoparticles synthesis and application in drug delivery, diagnosis and therapeutic protein delivery Contact:   Dr Amirali Popat

Title:  Inorganic nanoparticles for targeting bacterial biofilms Contact:   Dr Amirali Popat

Pharmaceutical Biology

Title:  Calcium homeostasis in cancer: identification and characterisation of novel drug targets  Contact:  Professor Greg Monteith  and  Professor Sarah Roberts-Thomson

Title:  Identification and characterization of novel ion and drug transporters and the design of novel high throughput screening assays for new pharmaceuticals Contact:   Professor Greg Monteith

Title:  Physiological regulation and the role of calcium transporters   Contact:   Professor Greg Monteith

Title:  Morphine and metastasis Contact:   Associate Professor Marie-Odile Parat

Title:  Role of caveolar proteins in glioblastoma Contact:   Associate Professor Marie-Odile Parat

Title:  Effect of perioperative pharmacotherapy of cancer patients on tumour Biology  Contact:   Associate Professor Marie-Odile Parat ,  Dr Ben Ross  and  Professor Nick Shaw

Biomedicinal Discovery and Development

Title:  Design, synthesis and evaluation of novel molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease Contact:   Dr Ben Ross

Title:  Computer-aided design, synthesis and evaluation of new drugs for cancer, pain and neurodegenerative diseases Contact:   Dr Ben Ross

Pharmacy Education Research Centre

No current projects available.

Alan Grant-Taylor Memorial Scholarship: Community Pharmacy Practice

Find out more about the Alan Grant-Taylor Memorial Scholarship

UQ Summer and Winter Research Programs

Coordinated by the UQ Student Employability Centre, these programs provide an opportunity for scholars to work with a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest.

By participating in a program students will gain valuable academic and professional opportunities, develop analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills, and have an opportunity to cultivate links with industry and academic contacts. 

It is also a chance to ‘test drive’ research before embarking on further research studies or higher degree research projects. Participation is open to undergraduate students and Masters by coursework students.

All students participating in the summer and winter programs will receive a scholarship. General information on the program, including how to apply, is available from the UQ Student Employability Centre’s program website .

Please see our Summer and Winter Research Program page for a full list of the available programs.

• Research Areas
• Higher Degrees by Research
• Optimising Medicine Information Handover After Discharge (OPTMED-D)
• Safe and Effective Medication Collaborative
• Seminar Series

• Open access
• Published: 19 April 2024

Causes and outcomes of at-risk underperforming pharmacy students: implications for policy and practice

• Alice Campbell 1 ,
• Tina Hinton 1 , 2 ,
• Narelle C. da Costa 1 ,
• Sian E. O’Brian 1 ,
• Danielle R. Liang 1 &
• Nial J. Wheate 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  421 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

289 Accesses

Metrics details

This study aimed to understand the key determinants for poor academic performance of students completing a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), Bachelor of Pharmacy and Management (BPharmMgmt), or Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree.

Data were collected on pharmacy students who had not met academic progression requirements between 2008 and 2018 at The University of Sydney, Australia. This included: age at the start of pharmacy degree; gender; whether they transferred from another university; whether they were a domestic or international student; Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank upon entry, previous studies in biology, chemistry, or mathematics; show cause triggers (units of study failed); number of show causes; students’ written show cause responses; weighted average mark at last show cause or graduation; whether they graduated and were a registered pharmacist; and, the number of years they spent studying the degree. Descriptive studies were used to analyse student characteristics using SPSS software, and student self-reported reasons for poor performance were analysed reflexively using thematic analysis procedures using NVivo.

This study included 164 pharmacy students enrolled in a BPharm (79.3%, n  = 130), BPharmMgmt (1.2%, n  = 2), or MPharm (19.5%, n  = 32). Of the students, 54% ( n  = 88) were men, 81% ( n  = 133) were domestic students, 15% ( n  = 24) transferred from another degree program, and 38% ( n  = 62) graduated from the course. Show cause students were less likely to graduate if they transferred from another degree program ( P  = 0.0002) or failed more than three units of study (UoS; P  < 0.0001). The most commonly failed UoS were related to organic or pharmaceutical chemistry, and the top student self-reported reasons for poor performance was stress/anxiety, physical health, and depression.

Pharmacy schools should aim to address student foundational knowledge in chemistry, identify at-risk students early using pre-subject testing, and provide better services to address student mental health.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

A student’s academic performance in higher education is typically defined by their achievement of learning outcomes and demonstration of their ability to apply the concepts taught. Measurement of these attributes can include assessments, quizzes, role plays, field work, practical placements, workshops, tutorials, laboratories, and examinations. In most higher education programs, a minimum standard of academic achievement is required in order to progress through the course, to ensure the student has gained adequate knowledge and skills, and that they have achieved the specified learning outcomes. In this regard, poor academic performance can be defined by instances where a student fails to meet the expected minimum academic standard. Usually this comprises a minimum overall score in a subject and/or passing a specific barrier assessment, which is ultimately linked to their retention or attrition.

Understanding the key determinants of student success, failure, retention, and attrition has become increasingly important for higher education institutions, and has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades. Early studies on student attrition focused primarily on student characteristics [ 1 ], before attention shifted to interactions between the student and their institutions. Prominent researchers, including Spady [ 2 , 3 ], Tinto [ 4 , 5 ], and Bean [ 6 ] proposed models to explain the interplay between academic and social integration leading to underperformance, and eventually, attrition. More recently, interest has increased in examining student engagement [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], where the student and institutions have a joint responsibility for academic success. To be successful, a student needs to participate, and higher education institutions need to provide an appropriate learning environment, opportunities, and support [ 10 ].

Studies on the key determinants of student underperformance reveal an array of contributing factors. Recent systematic reviews on underperformance and dropout rates show that key determinants fall into categories relating to the institution, personal life, demographics, and social integration [ 11 , 12 ]. Within higher education institutions, studies have found that an academic’s professional knowledge and pedagogical skills, along with the institution’s learning resources, course structure, and environment, are key factors that influence academic performance and non-completion [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Teaching methods that higher institutions adopt have also been evaluated, with student-centered approaches that encourage active learning resulting in better performance when compared with a traditional teacher-centered approach [ 15 , 16 ].

In terms of individual factors, studies have found a lack of effort, distraction, poor time management, and no longer being interested in the course as having a negative impact on academic performance [ 14 , 15 , 18 , 19 ]. Active learning (e.g. self-quizzes, completing problem sets, and explaining concepts) has been found to yield better academic outcomes when compared with passive learning (e.g. reading lecture slides or class notes, watching lecture videos, and reading textbooks) [ 20 , 21 ]. In the same study, how early a student studied in relation to their exam did not affect their outcome, whereas students who were more distracted during the time they allocated for study, performed worst [ 20 , 22 ]. Education-related stress, poor mental health, exam anxiety, and sleep quality are also factors found to cause poor performance [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Other studies have shown that part-time students and those who have previously failed subjects are at risk of further poor performance and attrition [ 17 , 28 , 29 ]. Social factors including cyberbullying [ 30 ], homesickness for international students [ 31 ], and excessive socialising [ 16 ] also have a negative effect on academic performance.

Working status was found to negatively impact academic performance [ 27 ], where poor academic outcomes were correlated with a longer time spent at work [ 16 , 28 , 32 ]. Many studies have associated the lower socioeconomic status of students and their family, or financial strain with poor academic performance [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]; whereas, other studies have shown that students in families where one parent has attended higher education tend to achieve higher grades [ 31 ]. Some studies have found men and minority students are more at risk of poor performance [ 31 , 33 ]. Part-time students are much more likely cite work and family responsibilities as reasons for stopping their studies [ 17 ]. Research on students whose first language is not that of the higher education institution is mixed, with some confirming it to be a key attributor to underperformance [ 34 , 35 , 36 ], along with students with a migrant background or who are first-generation university attendees (commonly referred to as first-in-family) [ 31 , 37 , 38 ]. In contrast, other studies have found that academic performance of international students was similar, or better, than domestic students [ 39 , 40 ].

A government panel in Australia reported that the leading drivers for non-completion in higher education are both institution-related (learning environment, an academic’s ability to teach, student to staff ratios, student engagement, and support services) and student-related (health, finance, and personal responsibilities) [ 41 ]. A survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) identified the top three reasons for attrition for students studying a bachelors degree to be: loss of interest, employment/financial reasons, and personal reasons (health, family, or other personal reasons). For postgraduate courses, reasons for attrition were highest in the order of personal reasons, employment/financial, followed by loss of interest [ 42 ].

Where a student has underperformed, they may be offered remediation assessments; to re-enroll and attempt the entire subject again, which may result in a delay in degree completion; or in some cases, be excluded from reenrolling into the same course for a period of time [ 43 , 44 ].

Consequences of poor performance vary across higher education institutions and may depend on the reasoning provided, extent of underperformance, and number of failed subjects. Key stake holders impacted by poor performance and attrition from higher education can include the students and their families, the higher education institution they are enrolled in, their community workforce, and government. Non-completion directly impacts the funding and reputation of an institution [ 17 , 45 , 46 ]. In Australia, where the cost of higher education for domestic students is subsidised by the federal government, non-completion incurs a direct cost to both the student and the tax-payer. The cost to the student includes lost time, psychological health, student debt, and forgone income [ 9 ]. From the perspective of workforce planning, a delay or non-completion of study reduces the number of employees entering into the workforce, and can lead to workforce shortages and place a burden on those currently in the field.

There are many studies that have examined the key determinants for student success or underperformance and attrition in health; however, most have focused on nursing or medical education [ 13 , 15 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Consequently there are limited studies that have examined the rate and reasons for attrition within pharmacy degrees. Being a degree known to be difficult in technical content, and which requires students to achieve a high level of competence, it is important to investigate reasons for attrition and potential opportunities for improvement in student teaching and engagement.

In this study we analysed 10 years of demographic data and responses to why academic progression requirements had not been met in a cohort of students enrolled in a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), Bachelor of Pharmacy and Management (BPharmMgmt), or Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree at The University of Sydney. Our aim was to understand the key determinants for poor performance within this group of students and identify opportunities for policy and practice to reduce underperformance in the future.

Approval for this study was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of The University of Sydney (2022/815).

Data collection

The inclusion criteria for this study were students enrolled in a BPharm, BPharmMgmt, or MPharm degree between the period of 2008 and 2018 (inclusive), who were required to provide a minimum of one show cause at any stage of their study. Data collected on each student included: age at the start of pharmacy degree; gender; whether they transferred from another university; whether they were a domestic or international student; Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) upon entry, which is a percentile score that ranks Australian students finishing secondary school in relation to their academic achievement [ 51 ]; previous studies in biology, chemistry, or mathematics; show cause triggers (units of study failed); number of show causes; students’ written show cause responses; weighted average mark (WAM) at last show cause or graduation (WAM is an average grade score indicating a student’s overall academic performance over the course of their degree and is similar to a grade point average) [ 52 ]; whether they graduated; and, the number of years they spent studying the degree. Whether those students who had graduated were currently registered as a pharmacist in Australia was retrieved using the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency online registry list [accessed in 2023].

Data analysis

Researchers Da Costa, O’Brien, and Liang collected, screened, and de-identified the data, and researchers Campbell, Hinton, and Wheate analysed the data. Descriptive statistics, including mean ± SD, median, and frequencies (count and percentage) were calculated using Microsoft Excel. Mann-Whitney U tests were undertaken in GraphPad Prism 9.0 (GraphPad Software, Boston, MA, USA) to ascertain any differences between ATAR scores. Chi Square analyses were undertaken in GraphPad Prism 9.0 to compare categorical data including differences between men and women, domestic and international students, transferring and non-transferring students, and graduating and non-graduating students.

Written show cause responses were transcribed by Campbell and uploaded into NVivo (1.5.1) software (QSR International, Massachussets USA). The show cause responses were analysed reflexively using inductive thematic analysis procedures [ 53 ].This involved manually reviewing each show cause response to identify emerging themes relating to the reasons stated by the student for their poor performance. From the themes identified, a total of 43 codes were generated based on the ideas, trends, and content. Coding was conducted in a theory-driven manner, seeking to code information referencing the specific themes arising from the show cause response [ 53 ]. Themes were guided by the frequency of mention, and reported in the results if there was more than a single mention. The frequency of the subthemes was analysed to demonstrate the prevalence of stated factors that the student believed led to their poor performance.

Show cause process

Pharmacy students who do not meet the progression requirements of their degree enter one of three stages of academic intervention (Fig.  1 ). Triggers for a student not meeting the requirements for progression include: awarded a fail grade in over 50% of total units of study (subjects; UoS) taken in a semester or teaching period; an average grade (WAM) less than 50 across all UoS in a semester or teaching period; failing one, or more, barrier or compulsory UoS which includes CHEM1611, CHEM1612, PHAR2822, and any 3000 or 4000 level UoS for BPharm/BPharmMgmt; and any single UoS for MPharm; any practical component (e.g. field work or clinical work), failing the same UoS twice, having unsatisfactory attendance, or exceeding the maximum time limit allowed for the degree to be completed.

Students who fail to meet progression requirements for the first time are placed on Stage 1 of the at-risk register at which point they receive a letter from the Faculty of Medicine and Health, and are advised to complete a ‘Stay on Track’ survey and information session. At the discretion of the Associate Dean of Education, some students at Stage 1 may be required to consult an academic adviser. If a student is enrolled in a degree with a duration of less than two years full-time (e.g. MPharm), they are advised that should they fail to meet progression requirements in the following semester, they would be asked to ‘show good cause’ in order to be allowed to re-enrol in the same program; that is, they would be excluded from the degree for two years unless they could give reasons for why they should be allowed to remain studying. They are also recommended to speak to an academic advisor.

Stage 2 is triggered for a student in a 4 or 5 year undergraduate degree program (e.g. BPharm and BPharmMgmt) if they fail to meet progression requirements after being placed on Stage 1 in the previous semester, at which point the faculty sends a letter, advising the student to complete the ‘Staying on Track’ survey if they had not yet done so, and to consult an academic adviser. Stage 3 is triggered if a student fails to meet progression requirements a third time, or fails the same compulsory or barrier UoS, or any practical component twice. Students on Stage 3 are required to ‘show good cause’ and provide reasonable evidence to be allowed to re-enrol into the degree program.

The three at-risk stages of academic intervention for students who fail to meet course progression requirements. Show cause is required at Stage 2 (MPharm) or Stage 3 (BPharm/BPharmMgmt) in order to re-enrol

Demographics

In total, 164 pharmacy students received at least one show cause notification between the period of 2008 to 2018 (inclusive) and were enrolled in a BPharm (79.3%, n  = 130), BPharmMgmt (1.2%, n  = 2), or MPharm (19.5%, n  = 32) degree (Table  1 ). Of the students, 54% ( n  = 88) were men, and 81% ( n  = 133) were domestic students.

Students who transferred from another degree program made up 15% ( n  = 24) of the sample, and were a median two years older than those who did not transfer (median age 21, range 19–43 years). All students who transferred from another degree, were enrolled in the BPharm. Ninety-two percent of transfer students ( n  = 22) were domestic and 71% ( n  = 17) were women.

The age of students at the start of their degree was positively skewed, with a median age of 19 years for BPharm and BPharmMgmt (range 17–43 years). For MPharm, the median age at commencement was 24 (range 20–24) years. The median age of domestic students at the start of their BPharm or BPharmMgmt degree was 19 (range 17–43) years compared with international students at 22 (range 18–33) years. For MPharm, the median age for domestic students at commencement was 24 (range 20–54) years while for international students it was 24.5 (range 22–38) years.

Performance on entry and exit of the degree

The ATAR scores of the students in either the BPharm or BPharmMgmt were not normally distributed ( n  = 78, mean ATAR 88.8 ± 4.8) (Supplementary Figure S1 ). The average ATAR required for entry into BPharm and BPharm/Mgmt at the University of Sydney is around 90. Of the 24 students who transferred from another degree program, the ATAR score was available for four students, with an average of 78.8 ± 9.8, including two outliers who had ATAR scores of 67.80 and 74.15. The average ATAR on entry to the degree of the students who graduated was 89.4 ± 3.4, which was similar to those who did not graduate, 88.5 ± 5.4. A Mann-Whitney U test showed this difference was not statistically significant (W = 702.5, p  = 0.937).

The proportion of students who graduated after receiving at least one show cause was 37.8% ( n  = 62), of which 77.4% ( n  = 48) were registered as pharmacists at the time of data collection (Fig.  2 ). One student did not graduate their BPharm; however, they did return and complete the MPharm degree and was registered as a pharmacist at the time of data collection. The median time taken to graduation was 7 (range 1–9) years for students enrolled in the BPharm and 3 (range 2.5-8) years for those enrolled in the MPharm. During the study period, 188 students were enrolled in the BPharmMgmt degree but only two (1.1%) were required to show cause due to poor performance. Neither of those two students graduated.

A WAM score was available for all but three of the 164 students. The overall average WAM either at last show cause, if the student had not graduated, or at degree completion was 52.1 ± 12.0. For students who graduated (38.5%, n  = 62), the average WAM was 62.2 ± 5.1, while for those who did not graduate (61.5%, n  = 99), the average WAM was 45.7 ± 10.5.

When the proportion of students who graduated was compared across the ATAR bands (Table S1 ), it was evident that show cause students who entered their degree with an ATAR between 85 and 89.99 were more likely to graduate (44%) when compared with those who entered their degree with lower (27%) and higher (25–35%) ATAR scores.

Units failed

Across the cohort, show cause students received between 1 and 8 show cause notifications (Fig.  1 ). When the proportion of students who graduated was compared across the number of show causes received for those who received 1–5 show causes, the rate of graduation ranged from 36 to 50%, while none of the students who received six or more show causes graduated.

Percentage of students who graduated (black) and did not graduate (grey) by number of show causes received

Number of failed UoS

The median number of UoS failed across the three degree programs was 8 (BPharm, range 2–33), 9 (BPharmMgmt, range 5–13), and 5 (MPharm, range 2–12), respectively. In total, 8.5% ( n  = 14) students were required to show cause because they failed 2 or 3 UoS, 19.5% ( n  = 32) students failed 4 or 5 UoS and 72% ( n  = 118) students failed more than 6 UoS. Of the 14 students who failed 2 or 3 UoS, 86% were studying the MPharm degree and the remaining were BPharm students. Students who failed 4 or 5 UoS, were studying a BPharm (66%), BPharmMgmt (3%), or MPharm (31%) degree. The majority of students who failed more than 6 units were studying BPharm (91%), followed by MPharm (8%), and BPharmMgmt (1%). Students who failed 2 or 3 UoS were significantly more likely to graduate when compared with those who failed 4 or 5 UoS, or more than 6 UoS \( (X_2^2=21.86, \text{P}<0.0001)\) (Supplementary Figure S2 ).

Type of failed UoS

The most failed UoS that triggered a show cause across students in the BPharm and BPharmMgmt degrees were a mix of pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry and biology, across the first and second years of the degree programs (Table  2 ). The top five UoS failed were Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences (8.8%, 116/1314 fails; unit code: PHAR1812), Chemistry 1B (Pharmacy) (6.9%, 91/1314 fails; unit code: CHEM1612), Drug Discovery and Design 1 (6.7%, 88/1465 fails; unit code: PHAR2811), Molecular Biology and Genetics (6.5%, 86/1314 fails; unit Code: MBLG1001), and Chemistry 1A (6.2%, 81/1314 fails; unit code: CHEM1611).

For students studying the MPharm, the majority of UoS failed were for pharmaceutical sciences in first year and one specific pharmacy practice unit (PHAR5717) in the second year. The top three UoS failed for MPharm were Pharmaceutical Chemistry 1A (12.6% 19/151 fails; unit code: PHAR5513), Pharmaceutical Science (7.9%, 12/151 fails; unit code: PHAR5515), and Pharmaceutical Chemistry 1B (7.9%, 12/151 fails; unit code: PHAR5516) (Table  3 ).

Gender, transfer and international students

There was no significant difference between the number of men and women who graduated after receiving at least one show cause \( (X_1^2=0.056, \text{P}=0.813)\) . There was also no significant difference in the number of UoS failed \( (X_2^2=2.249, \text{P}\hspace{0.17em}=\hspace{0.17em}0.325)\) or number of show causes received \( (X_6^2=2.829, \text{P}=0.830)\) between men and women.

Students who transferred from another degree program were significantly less likely to graduate \( (X_1^2=13.53, \text{P}\hspace{0.17em}=\hspace{0.17em}0.0002)\) . The likelihood of graduating was not statistically significant different between domestic and international students who received a show cause \( (X_1^2=0.88, \text{P}<0.348)\) (Supplementary Figure S3 ).

Student responses to show causes

There were 293 show causes in total, of which only 141 show cause response letters were available. Reasons given by students for their poor performance could be classified under four major themes: personal life matters, institutional aspects, social integration, and interest in the course (Fig.  3 ). Personal life matters could be further sub-divided into health, study familiarity, responsibilities, and other personal life matters.

The majority of show cause responses attributed poor performance to personal life reasons (87%, 396 responses), followed by institution-related (8.8%, 40 responses), lack of interest in the degree (2.2%, 10 responses), and social integration (2%, 9 responses). The five most mentioned personal life reasons that led to poor performance were stress and anxiety ( n  = 63, 45%), physical health ( n  = 51, 36%), and depression ( n  = 39 28%). This was followed by family health, mentioned 37 times (26%), and reasons relating to employment or financial health, mentioned 33 times (23%). Reasons that related to the institution totalled 40, interest of the course totalled 10, and social reasons totalled 9. Personal life health-related reasons accounted for 41% of show cause responses. These included a combination of physical, mental, and unspecified health issues.

All show cause responses provided by students could be categorised into four major themes. Personal life was subcategorised into health, study skills, responsibilities, and other personal life

Some students identified a lack of study-related skills and study familiarity as a source of underperformance. Reasons included: carelessness in exams, poor study habits, language barrier, being an international student or mature age student, misjudging the course difficulty, overloading, burning out after high school, and being unaware of opportunities to apply for special consideration. Another set of reasons provided for underperformance included: needing to meet responsibilities and commitments for family, friendships, and romantic relationships. A variety of other personal life reasons were provided, which included: employment, finance, transition to independent living or a new country, living environment, distance to travel to the university, needing to relocate, and being physically unable to attend classes.

Student show cause responses that attributed poor performance to inefficiencies within the institution included UoS changes, error or poor timing of exams, dissatisfaction with the course and staff, and unhelpful support. Some students found the UoS content too difficult. Social reasons that lead to poor performance included: bullying, stigma from peers once failing, and homesickness (for those studying abroad). Another reason provided was no longer being interested or committed to the course.

This study investigated the key determinants of underperformance by pharmacy students at an Australian higher education institution. Our findings indicate that across the students enrolled in BPharm, BPharmMgmt, and MPharm degrees, those who had failed more UoS overall, were less likely to graduate. The types of UoS failed were weighted towards chemistry-based subjects, and the most frequent student-reported reasons for poor performance were related to personal health.

Our study also found that students who transferred from another higher education institution were less likely to graduate compared with students who had not transferred. Some studies in the US have found that students who transfer to bachelors programs from similar institutions or community colleges, which are US institutions that only offer two year undergraduate associate degrees that lead to a specific skilled job or can be used to transfer into a bachelor course [ 54 ], experience ‘transfer shock’ where grade point average (GPA) declines at the post transfer institution, which can eventually result in attrition [ 55 , 56 ]. In contrast, other studies have found no significant effects from transfers, and an overall lack of consensus on this as a universal experience [ 57 , 58 ]. A study that examined transferring engineering students found that students who transferred from similar degrees were more likely to graduate when compared with students who transferred from less comprehensive degrees [ 56 ]. A literature review that examined transferring student performance found factors that negatively influenced persistence and course completion included: a lack of social integration, limited transferrable credits, lower GPAs, lack of funding, distance from institution, academic rigour, and personal work/life balance [ 57 ].

Our analysis also found that students failing more than three UoS were more likely to not graduate when compared with those who failed fewer UoS. This finding parallels many studies that show students with poor academic outcomes are more likely to not complete their degree [ 59 , 60 ]. A recent study on student attrition, found that students who failed one subject were more likely to fail more subjects, and also had a four-fold higher likelihood of not graduating [ 27 ]. The Grattan Institute presents similar statistics, where students who consistently fail to meet academic progression requirements eventually decide to leave or are excluded from re-enrolling by the university [ 61 ].

The high occurrence of underperformance in relation to chemistry is consistent with other studies [ 62 , 63 ]. Pancyk et al. found that chemistry marks were correlated with attrition while biology marks predicted likelihood of delayed graduation for Master of Science (in Pharmacy) students. Another study found that the prior attainment of a Bachelor of Science degree to be a predictor of performance in a Doctor of Pharmacy program [ 64 ]. In countries, such as the US, where a specialised pre-admissions pharmacy test (Pharmacy College Admissions Test; PCAT) is used for entrance into a pharmacy program, the PCAT score correlated with student academic performance in the pharmacy course [ 65 ]. There are five areas examined by the PCAT, including: writing, biological processes, chemical processes, critical reading, and quantitative reasoning [ 66 ]. There is also evidence that better outcomes attained in pre-pharmacy biology and mathematics GPA [ 67 , 68 ], or having completed a four-year bachelor course, contributes to student performance in American pharmacy colleges [ 64 , 69 , 70 ]. Another study found prior academic achievement in secondary school, or pre-university study, can predict performance in an UK MPharm course; however, not the likelihood of graduation [ 71 ]. Other studies have found that pre-tests, for certain UoS, like biochemistry and pharmaceutical calculations conducted before starting a subject are correlated with overall subject performance, which makes these tests a good predictor for at-risk students [ 67 , 68 ].

The most common reasons reported by students for their underperformance in the present study were stress and anxiety, personal health, and depression. This is consistent with current literature [ 17 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and the 2022 Australian Student Experience Survey [ 72 ], which reported that health or stress, followed by work/life balance were the leading causes for students attrition. A specific study in pharmacy students found that exam anxiety had a negative impact on student performance in pharmacy practical exams [ 26 ]. Psychological distress among students completing a higher education degree in Norway showed negative impacts on their self-perceived academic ability, and course progression [ 73 ]. Another study investigating students’ self-reported explanations for their poor academic performance found mental health as a contributing factor, and vice versa, where poor performance intensified mental distress [ 27 ]. Although the Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported personal health reasons as a major contributor for non-completion in bachelor programs between 2018 and 2019, the leading reason was that students were no longer interested in their chosen degree. In the same report, non-completion of masters degrees was driven by family, health, or other personal reasons [ 42 ]. Student mental health is a significant driver of attrition and is common across both private and public higher institutions in Australia [ 41 ]. The mental health burden on students is recognised at The University of Sydney and so significant mental health support is offered. All students are able to access free counselling and psychological support sessions, there is a 24/7 mental health support telephone line, and additional self-help resources (like mindfulness and relaxation) are provided through the university’s website. Mental health first health training is also included in the curricula for all pharmacy degree programs at the university.

Successful completion of a pharmacy degree requires not only academic ability, but a certain level of pre-knowledge, in particular, biology and chemistry, to decrease failure rates in these subjects, avoid delays in degree completion, and possible attrition. Institutions should aim to address these barriers by introducing pre-requisite subjects or mandate compulsory bridging courses if a prior level of knowledge attainment in these subject areas is not provided. Alternatively, pre-tests for certain UoS can be conducted prior to the course commencement to identify at-risk students, and additional academic support services can be offered.

With student poor mental health found as the most common self-reported reason for poor performance in this study, often exacerbated by academic performance pressures, institutions should implement policies for early detection and support for students going through challenging times. Such policies could include more frequent reminders for students to self-assess their mental health, and information on where to seek support services. This could take form in programs being introduced prior to lectures, access to support portals made more prominent on online learning platforms, or self-check surveys to be taken at a frequency deemed appropriate.

Limitations

The present study had a number of limitation. Not all student’s ATAR scores (or equivalent) were available. The method of collecting whether a student was registered as a pharmacist was based on them not having changed their last name which may be the case for some students who changed their name after graduation (e.g. upon marriage). Students who may be registered as a pharmacist in countries other than Australia could not be determined. Not all student show cause reasons were available because of the change from physical to electronic filing over the period studied. The limited number of students who received five or more show causes also meant the study was not powered to establish a cut-off whereby after receiving a certain number of show causes, the chance of graduating is highly unlikely.

Conclusions

This study investigated the key determinants for poor academic performance in a cohort of pharmacy students enrolled in a BPharm, BPharmMgmt, and MPharm degree. The key factors that influenced whether a show cause student completed their studies included whether they transferred from another institution, and failed more than three UoS. The UoS with the highest fail rates were chemistry based, and the most frequent student self-reported reason for poor performance was personal stress and anxiety. The results indicate that pharmacy schools should aim to address student foundation knowledge in chemistry, identify at-risk students early using pre-subject testing, and provide better access and knowledge of available services to address student mental burden. Future studies should investigate whether students who have completed chemistry and biology pre-requisites perform better in their pharmacy degree.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, N.J.W.

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Campbell, A., Hinton, T., da Costa, N.C. et al. Causes and outcomes of at-risk underperforming pharmacy students: implications for policy and practice. BMC Med Educ 24 , 421 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05327-z

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Grace Williamson, Ph.D. candidate, found inspiration and purpose during her gap year experience in 2017. She grew up in Iowa City, IA, ten minutes down the road from the University of Iowa, where she planned to attend college.   

Although she was looking forward to her future studies, her Norwegian heritage valued a gap year between high school and college, and she was anxious to have a global experience. Little did she know that the next year would impact her Ph.D. research years later.   

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She lived in Hønefoss, Norway, attending Ringerike Folkehøgskole where she chose the track “Global Solidarity”. She volunteered with the local Red Cross to serve Syrian refugees and traveled to Kenya and India to serve local schools and orphanages. For her, the Kirigiti Home for Girls in Kenya particularly stood out.  

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Today, she works in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP) for Kristy Ainslie’s, Ph.D., lab researching ways to make Orthopoxvirus vaccines more accessible to women in largely underserved areas around the world, such as Kenya. These vaccines fight against “pox” viruses such as smallpox and mpox (monkeypox).  

“Grace is an exceptional researcher who is making pioneering strides in vaccine research,” said Ainslie. “Her blend of scientific expertise and humanitarian spirit makes her a truly valuable asset to my team and the scientific community.”  

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Her goal is to develop an Orthopoxvirus subunit vaccine, which would be a safer option for those who are immunocompromised and for pregnant women. In addition, the vaccine would be thermostable to ensure easier storage and less expensive distribution.   

Williamson hopes her research will lead to improving not only the accessibility of Orthopoxvirus vaccines but also the development of other vaccines. “If we had more thermostable vaccines, then we could improve access for all,” she said.   

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Why do a literature review?

A literature review is an essential part of the research process. By conducting a review-- searching for and reading articles-- it helps you to understand who else has worked on your topic, methods that have been used to investigate this topic, and results/outcomes from similar studies, and develop your own research questions. When writing a literature review, you selective choose some of the readings you identified during your exploration, and write a short paragraph to prove to readers that your research question is necessary, important, and unanswered.

You do not need to conduct a Systematic Review. A Systematic Review is a research methodology where you attempt to gather all relevant literature describing a narrowly defined question. You may use a systematic technique to ensure you have searched relevant databases thoroughly, but your literature review does not need to be as extensive as a Systematic Review.

For a literature review, expect:

- That you will read two articles or book chapters for every one included in your final written review.

- You will need to search 2-6 subject-specific databases containing articles, book chapters, dissertations/theses, and other scholarly output. This typically happens at the start of the review.

- Your goal is to be thorough: expect to use both keywords and indexing terms to search databases

- You may need to use statistical sources, newspaper articles, articles from popular press magazines, reports from government organizations, or other types of unique sources in your review. These are unlikely to be a major part of your literature review, but can help to prove that a problem is widespread and deserving of research attention.

Process of a literature review

1. Define your question-- develop a hypothesis or research question.  For example, "If we teach nurses to use asthma puffers correctly, does this increase patient-reported compliance with use of puffers and increase the rate of refills?"

2. Consider which databases would best provide information on your topic. Databases tend to focus on disciplines or subjects. If your research is about clinical use of drugs, you may only need to use clinically-focused databases. If your research concerns motivation for behavior, you may want to use psychology databases. If your research question is about economics of drugs, you may want to use business/economics-focused databases. Use this list of databases on this page or talk to a librarian to find the best databases for researching your question.

2. Break apart your question into concepts. With the question above, major concepts include nurses, asthma puffers, drug compliance, technique, refills.

3. For each concept, brainstorm synonyms. For example, puffer= inhaler, Flovent (or other brand names), etc.

3a. If using an indexed database like PubMed, look for the preferred indexing term for each concept and add it to your synonym list.

4. Combine the synonyms in your database. Use OR to connect synonyms. Use AND to connect different concepts. For example: (Nurse OR nurses) AND (inhaler OR puffer) AND (education OR training OR instruction).

4a. It is sometimes easier to look for research covering parts of your question rather than the whole. It is unlikely that there has been research on exactly your topic (nurses, and asthma puffers, and instruction, and compliance, and refills). Consider looking for research on nurses and inhalers; instruction with inhalers and if that affects patient compliance; use of puffers and refill rates; or other ways to break down the question into smaller parts.

5. Examine the results in your first database by reading the abstracts. Add to your list of synonyms by seeing what terms are used in the abstracts, and consider re-running the search with additional terms. Create a list of materials from this database that seem relevant. Next, download the full text of articles, book chapters, etc. on your list. Get older articles in print from the library's print collections. Repeat this process in your other databases.

6. Read the materials you found in step 5. Consider whether the information you have found allows you to demonstrate:

• That your topic is relevant and important, and deserves you and your group spending a year in investigating it.
• That you have found articles that cover a relevant timeframe and scope for your question.
• That you have seen any landmark studies, or major studies that have changed thinking on a topic. Not every topic area has landmark studies.
• That you can summarize the research methods that have been used to study this question/problem before and their results.

7. If you cannot demonstrate each of these, repeat steps 4 and 5 until you can.

8. Write your literature review, summarizing why your question/problem is important, other methods that have been used to investigate this problem and what they have found, and explain why your research question will help fill gaps in current knowledge. You can consider using the FINER criteria (Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant) to ensure you have covered the key aspects of the topic in enough depth. You will likely cite/reference about half the items you read. Your goal here is to select enough materials to demonstrate that you know this topic, without overwhelming your audience.

Help on literature reviews

• Bailey's Research for the Health Professional, 3rd ed ISBN: 9780803645134 Includes detailed help on literature reviews

Databases to use

USC subscribes to over 1300 databases, so only the primary databases you may use are listed here. If these do not cover your topic fully, examine the A-Z list of databases and read descriptions, or ask a librarian for help.

• Databases licensed by USC Libraries This link opens in a new window A-Z list of all databases licensed by USC Libraries.

Clinical databases

• CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window Most comprehensive database of full-text for nursing & allied health journals from 1937 to present. Includes access to scholarly journal articles, dissertations, magazines, pamphlets, evidence-based care sheets, books, and research instruments.
• Embase This link opens in a new window Embase provides access to over more than 29 million citations for biomedical articles and conference proceedings. This version has been customized for USC users to find the full-text of articles from library holdings.

Basic sciences databases

• Biosis Citation Index This link opens in a new window Life sciences and biomedical research database covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods and instrumentation, animal studies, and more.
• International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (Ovid) This link opens in a new window Worldwide coverage of pharmaceutical science and practice literature. Includes coverage of drug development, pharmacoeconomics, toxicity, regulation, and technology.
• SciFinder This link opens in a new window Articles, patents, and white papers describing chemicals. Includes information on structures, reactions, compounds, drug development, and manufacturing. Requires separate login. Go to USC's create an account page to register.

Social Sciences databases

• ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Education focused database.
• Global Health This link opens in a new window Public health database, focus on international coverage.
• PsycINFO This link opens in a new window Abstract and citation database of scholarly literature in psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Includes journal articles, books, reports, theses, and dissertations from 1806 to present.
• EconLit This link opens in a new window Literature in economics.

General Databases These databases include multiple subjects. They are useful databases for looking for landmark studies; determining if your topic is well-studied by another subject (as this would lead you to select a database that focuses on just that subject); and ensuring you did not miss research published in prominent scientific journals.

• Scopus This link opens in a new window Large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Includes bibliometrics tools to track, analyze and visualize research.
• Web of Science This link opens in a new window
• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Filtered Google Search finding scholarly journal articles, books, citations, and case law.

Writing & Citing Help

Use these handouts to get information on citing and writing; contact the Norris Medical Library with questions. 

• Using Review Articles Review this handout to make sure you're using review articles appropriately.
• Quick Citing Reference- AMA 11th ed 2 page handout covering the basics of using AMA style, 11th edition
• << Previous: Develop a Question
• Next: Data Management >>
• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 2:21 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/healthsciences/pharmyr3

10 Catchy Research Title For Stem Students

1. " nano power : harnessing energy at the molecular scale" - nanotech's energy revolution., 2. " mars colonization: engineering challenges and solutions" - stem for interplanetary life., 3. " quantum computing: unlocking unprecedented computational power" - quantum leaps in stem., 4. " crispr -cas9: gene editing for health and beyond" - precision in dna manipulation., 5. " green chemistry : sustainable solutions for a greener tomorrow" - stem for eco-friendliness., 6. "artificial intelligence in medicine : transforming healthcare" - stem meets healthcare., 7. " renewable energy integration : powering the future sustainably" - stem for energy transition., 8. " space debris management: safeguarding our orbital environment" - stem in space cleanup., 9. " neural interfaces : connecting brain and machine" - stem for mind-machine interaction., 10. "3d printing in biomedical applications : building better bodies" - stem shaping medical futures., discover more stories.

Class of 2027: Required module info coming this week

Medical Student Education May 02, 2024

Rising Phase 1 Year 2 students (Class of 2027): Watch your email this week for information on completing required human subject research modules.

Your human subject research training includes nine Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) modules, which you must complete between May 6 and July 19.

Why is human subject research so important?

Indiana University School of Medicine strongly believes medical students should be familiar with human subject research issues and requires all medical students to receive training in it. Human subject research affects every physician working with patients.

It's important to know why patients must be protected during biomedical research and understand the ethical, practical and regulatory principles involved in doing research. In addition, all practicing physicians need to know about the elements of informed consent and the oversight given to research activities by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).

Medical Student Education

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NSF graduate research fellowships go to 16 Tar Heels

The prestigious National Science Foundation award supports education, professional development and research.

This year, 12 graduate students and four undergraduates at UNC-Chapel Hill received fellowships from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program . Their research covers several STEM-related fields, including biology, sociology, genetics and anthropology.

Begun in 1952, this fellowship is the oldest of its kind directly supporting graduate students in STEM. Its purpose is not only to ensure the quality and vitality in U.S. scientific and engineering workforces but also to broaden and diversify the talent in STEM-related professions. Federal funding through a three-year stipend provides educational support, professional development and international research opportunities for recipients.

Beth Mayer-Davis, dean of The Graduate School, noted that the recipients of this year’s awards are making fundamental strides in overcoming obstacles that affect the lives of people and the environment not just in North Carolina but around the globe.

“The excellent work of these students highlights the depth of knowledge being generated through graduate education at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Mayer-Davis said. “It is this kind of impactful research that sets Carolina students apart as our next generation of leaders.”

The UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of the  Materials Research Society partnered with The Graduate School to help students develop key skills and provide opportunities to network with scientific professionals. One such opportunity is the NSF GRFP peer-review workshop. This annual peer-review workshop provides senior undergraduates and first- and second-year graduate students an environment to meet one-on-one with NSF GRFP fellows.

These UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students received NSF fellowships:

• Andrew Boyle , College of Arts and Sciences’ physics and astronomy department.
• Henry Dieckhaus , UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
• Abigail Foes , UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
• Georgina Gemayel , College of Arts and Sciences’ geography and environment department.
• Camryn Gloor , College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry department.
• Lauren Hutchinson , College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry department.
• Micah Hysong , College of Arts and Sciences’ and UNC School of Medicine’s genetics and molecular biology curriculum.
• Athena Owirodu , College of Arts and Sciences’ sociology department.
• Ryan Salcido , College of Arts and Sciences’ and UNC School of Medicine’s genetics and molecular biology curriculum.
• Gates Schneider , UNC School of Medicine’s biological and biomedical sciences program.
• Samuel Weaver , College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry department.
• Adriana Wisniewski , College of Arts and Sciences’ anthropology department.

These UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students received NSF fellowships:

• Stephanie Caddell , College of Arts and Sciences’ earth, marine and environmental sciences department.
• Xinyi Li , College of Arts and Sciences’ and North Carolina State University’s biomedical engineering joint department.
• Christine Mendoza , College of Arts and Sciences’ computer science department.
• Dain Ruiz , College of Arts and Sciences’ biology department.

Read the 2024 awardee list.

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