Pharm.D. students looking for educational stimulation and challenge beyond the traditional curriculum are invited to participate in the college’s Honors Program. This selective program challenges participants by introducing them to new ideas and placing them in contact with others of similar aptitude. Honors Program students participate in research projects with faculty mentors and present their results at college seminars. Many of these students also present their results at national meetings and in peer-reviewed journal articles.
This month, we highlight Pharm.D. Minh Nguyen. Minh is a P2 pharmacy student who was accepted into the Honors Research Program and the Rho Chi National Honors Society this spring. She has a B.S. in Biochemistry and a B.A. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. Her research mentor is Assistant Professor of Health Outcomes Dr. Anton L.V. Avanceña.
How did you get interested in research?
As an undergrad at UT, I had the opportunity to participate in research in different settings. As part of the Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) Practical Sensors Stream, I worked in a wet lab setting performing experiments to develop colorimetric sensors capable of detecting the presence of chiral compounds.
I was also a research assistant for Project SEED, where I managed a database containing over 600 family surveys and conducted recruitment and training events for additional research staff. Because of these experiences, I immediately sought out research opportunities in the first semester of the P1 year. Work in Dr. Avanceña’s group was in line with my interest in health economics and outcomes research.
I began working on two projects: one that looked at the outcome of methadone maintenance therapy in Vietnam and another that studied treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in cancer patients in the United States.
How did the Summer Research Fellowship impact your research?
Although I have been involved in research for five years as an undergraduate, this is the first summer I was able to devote most of my time to it. The fellowship allowed me to take an online course in data analysis and statistics, which are essential for my research. It also enabled me to present my work on alcohol use disorder treatments among cancer survivors in the United States at the SNPhA National Conference in Los Angeles.
While I presented this work with a group at the 2024 Pharmacy Research Excellence Day, I sharpened my presentation skills as the sole author present at the meeting. Through both experiences, I was also able to help draft our findings into a manuscript that is currently under review in a leading peer-reviewed journal.
How did you find your research problem?
I received many interesting questions from other participants and the judges about my poster at the SNPhA National Conference. When I discussed them with Dr. Avanceña, we came up with a lot of ideas for additional projects, especially one that I will independently lead from start to finish.
This project will focus on the prevalence of cancer survivors who complete recommended AUD treatments and the development of methods to predict the potential for drop-out during treatment.