Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy Student Research Program
About the Program
Student Program Statistics
20 manuscripts
100 posters
Programming
Programming for VSPRP includes an orientation and six didactic research training sessions to help enrich student knowledge and experience with the research process. Didactic meeting topics include literature searching, data collection, abstract development, poster development, manuscript writing, and an overview of biostatistics. The VSPRP aims to have each student present a poster of their work at ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, or an equivalent national conference, and the program has developed a competitive travel scholarship to further support VSPRP students.
Expectations
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Students will commit an average of 5 hours/week towards research assignments (time commitment will be discussed on an individual basis and is flexible for the students' schedule).
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Students will attend and actively participate in didactic training sessions.
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Students will regularly meet with their assigned mentors virtually or in person.
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Students will respond to all email communications within at least 48 hours regarding research activities.
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Deadlines will be project-specific and agreed upon by the student and mentor. Failure to meet deadlines may result in dismissal from the program.
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Students will complete IRB and CITI training and adhere to all HIPAA-compliant practices endorsed by VUMC.
Program Feedback
“Being able to work on project from conception through data collection has been a great and eye-opening experience. Also, learning how to create and modify a survey in REDCap and submitting for IRB approval were all new experiences for me and I learned a great deal from both experiences”
“All the didactic sessions I was able to attend were very helpful. The content provided great instruction/steps for both poster and abstract development. These are skills that I will now think of consciously when I am writing and developing presentations and future posters.”
“My mentors were excellent. They ensured that I was on the right track with data collection and provided excellent feedback with both the abstract and poster. They were incredibly friendly and easy to work with. They expressed expectations clearly and was always extremely helpful when I was unsure of which steps to take next and when I had questions.”
Overview of the Student Research Program
Check out this video of testimonials from current and former students, VSP clinical pharmacists, and outcomes research team members!
Students in Our Program
Montana Packer
Montana attends Belmont University and is in the class of 2026. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Director Autumn Zuckerman on a study that evaluates the efficacy of dose escalation as a strategy to recapture response in patients with Crohn's Disease who relapse on the anti-interleukin agent risankizumab.
Kelsie Fadool
Kelsie attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2026. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Patient Care Improvement Pharmacist Kristen Whelchel on evaluating the implementation of a standardized process for specialty pharmacists to document and monitor patient disease severity and response to therapy using SIBDQ.
Jordan Bailey
Jordan attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2026. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Patient Care Improvement Pharmacist Kristen Whelchel on a study that describes how often patients taking specialty medications for IBD experience an insurance change in a calendar year and the resulting administrative, medical, and financial challenges.
Christopher Rodriguez
Christopher attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2026. He is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that describes patient characteristics, time on treatment, and time at each dose for patients diagnosed with HR+/HER2- breast cancer and initiating abemaciclib at a lower dose than the FDA approved dosing of 150mg twice daily.
Charlotte (Charlie) Haskell
Charlie attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP Clinical Pharmacist Amanda Kibbons on a study that will evaluate outcomes of recently-approved dupilumab treatment for Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) in pediatric patients including baseline EoE characteristics and response.
Maxine Cork
Maxine attends Belmont University and is in the class of 2026. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that will assess the incidence of reactions in subcutaneous IFX therapy as compared to reactions in infusion IFX therapy.
Ella Rosser-Webb
Ella attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that is assessing clinical outcomes of patients stable on therapy who switch to a biosimilar from an originator product.
Virginia Truxillo
Virginia attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP's Patient Care Improvement Pharmacist Miranda Kozlicki on a study that is evaluating dosing patterns and analyzing clinical outcomes for patients before and after switching from IV to SC infliximab and vedolizumab.
Miller Hadley
Miller attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Director Autumn Zuckerman on a study that is evaluating direct cost avoidance from pharmacist interventions.
Madeline Porterfield
Madeline attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that is evaluating if there is an association between demographics and progression-free survival in patients on CDK 4/6 inhibitors.
Ashley Lauterbach
Ashley attends Belmont University and is in the class of 2027. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that is exploring current practices in LFT monitoring.
