May 18, 2022
Third-year Pharm.D. students in the Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy (RASP) pathway presented their research findings to peers, faculty and staff members of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy on April 22. This year, the School also welcomed Dianne Kapherr, a ’84 alumna, to view the student presentations.
RASP is a longitudinal, selective pathway within the Doctor of Pharmacy elective curriculum that is built around a mentored, in-depth, scholarly project where each student frames an answerable question with a faculty mentor, generates and interprets relevant data, and communicates their findings.
The poster presentation simulated what students would experience at a professional meeting and served as an opportunity for the students to share their project results and develop their presentation skills.
“The RASP poster session is always one of our favorite days of the year. This event provides an opportunity for our students to share their successes and for us to celebrate all that they’ve achieved over the past year and half within the RASP pathway. The poster session also serves as the starting point for students to think about presenting their project findings at an annual meeting during their fourth year and disseminate their work through publication,” said RASP Program Director Kathryn Morbitzer, Pharm.D., M.S.
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy pathway gives Pharm.D. students the opportunity to pursue a mentored, in-depth, scholarly project as part of the elective curriculum.
“The RASP pathway has been a valuable and rewarding experience during my time at the School of Pharmacy. I feel more confident and comfortable in research and associated deliverables. I really enjoyed our poster session as a celebration and a chance to learn about all my peers’ hard work throughout the course. It was exciting to see these projects come to fruition, with some moving onto publication,” said Rada Zunich, Pharm.D. Class of 2023 candidate.
Pharm.D. Class of 2023 candidate Sabrina Nance added, “The RASP pathway was one of the aspects about the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy that I was most looking forward to when applying and starting my pharmacy training. This experience has been a truly rewarding experience by allowing me to gain the knowledge that will allow me to lead my own research projects in future endeavors. Some of my favorite aspects were the variety of project presentations that were offered during the RASP pathway. The poster session was a great way to gain a better understanding of the various projects of all the students in the RASP pathway and the amount of work we all put into our respective projects. It is truly enlightening to see all of the projects that my peers were able to complete over the course of the RASP pathway and present my own project.”
Students in the RASP pathway enroll in three elective courses during their second and third year of pharmacy school where they learn about the research process, gain skills through self-directed learning and integrate into the world-class research programs of School faculty. The majority of students continue with their project during their fourth year and graduate with honors at commencement.
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