Pharmacy Student, Faculty Collaboration in New Publication

A discussion in the School of Pharmacy Journal Club two years ago has resulted in the publication of an article on the adverse effects of prolonged antibiotic use.

Dr. R. Brigg Turner, faculty in the School of Pharmacy and principal author for the study, explains that as students read and discussed a journal article, they developed a number of ideas for improving on its design and the strength of its conclusions. “By the end of our discussion, we were convinced that we could actually perform a better study at our own hospital system.”

Dr. Henry Saedi-Kwon, then a third-year PharmD candidate, worked with Turner and Dr. Jacqueline Schwartz (former School of Pharmacy faculty member) to replicate the previous study and design their larger investigation. Saedi-Kwon graduated in 2016 and is now an Academic & Ambulatory Care fellow in the school.

Erin Wilson, a current third-year student, reached out to Turner for opportunities to prepare for residencies after graduation, and Turner invited her to collaborate on the study. “We still had a fair amount of data to collect for the larger study, we needed to analyze the data, and ultimately draft a manuscript,” Turner said. “Erin was instrumental in all of these final steps.”

Working on the article has helped Wilson gain a deeper respect for the energy and dedication required for high-quality research. “It’s especially exciting that all our efforts culminated in meaningful results that may have an impact on directing future treatment.” Wilson enjoyed the rigor of the work, and she expects that such research will be an important component of her career. “Working alongside Dr. Turner in this capacity was invaluable, and I remain truly grateful for his mentorship.”

For Turner, student involvement at every level—from seeing the initial opportunity for the study through responding to reviewer comments and final publication—was a critical element in the team’s success. “It really means a lot to me to work with detail-orientated and driven students like Henry and Erin that help perform research that will be used by practitioners across the country.”

The article “Comparative analysis of neutropenia in patients receiving prolonged treatment with ceftaroline” appears in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkx452).

Monday, Feb. 5, 2018