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In the past several months, faculty from South ��ֱ���� State University's College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions have published nine articles in peer-reviewed journals. 

Topics covered in these publications include using artificial intelligence in qualitative research, best practices for mobile health clinics, participation in a national pharmacy school ranking system, resilience among individuals experiencing housing instability, perinatal mental health disorders in rural areas, recruitment approaches for enrolling patients in programs to improve medication adherence, development of immunotherapy models using zebra larvae, assessment of pharmacy regulatory models, and transcription of LINE-1 DNA sequences.  

Set to be published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning in October 2025. Authors include Shanna K. O’Connor, Erin E. Miller, Alyssa R. Zweifel, Danielle M. Schievelbein, Anjali R. Parmar and James W. Amell, all from SDSU. 

Artificial intelligence is an emerging tool in the field of research and shows promise for supporting qualitative data analysis. This study examined differences in inductive thematic analysis compared to traditional faculty-led coding, as well as differences when the work was completed by students vs. faculty. Findings showed AI-assisted analyses identified most themes accurately, though faculty-generated AI results aligned more closely with expert-reviewed themes than student-generated AI results. The findings indicate that AI may be a valuable tool for enhancing efficiency in initial evaluation of qualitative data. 

Published in BMC Health Services Research in July 2025. Authors include Erin E. Miller, Sarah Schweitzer, Alex W. Middendorf, Deidra Van Gilder, James W. Amell, Patrica Ahmed and Stephanie Hanson, all from SDSU. 

This study presents findings related to logistical best practices for the development, implementation and operation of pharmacist-driven mobile health clinics. Individuals from mobile health clinics across the nation were interviewed regarding their experience implementing pharmacist-driven mobile health clinics. Results of the study included six themes related to logistics: programs exist to increase access to care; programs have an awareness of scope/role; programs identify and meet community needs; programs meet patients’ needs; programs have a small staff with large volunteer-base; and programs have a three-step clinical workflow. Findings of the study can be used to guide future development and operation of pharmacist-driven mobile health clinics. 

Published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education in June 2025. Authors from SDSU include Shanna K. O’Connor. 

Each year, the U.S News & World Report provides a ranking of schools, including pharmacy schools. In recent years, this ranking system has become a topic of increasing concern within academic pharmacy. This manuscript examines the potential positive and negative implications of pharmacy schools and organizations ceasing to participate in the annual ranking. Drawing on a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature and popular media, the study identifies key themes related to the impact of rankings on pharmacy schools, including enrollment trends, resource allocation and the risks of reputational bias. The findings of the study can inform ongoing discussions and offer actionable recommendations for schools and pharmacy organizations, like the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, as they navigate future engagement with U.S. News & World Report. 

Published in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment in May 2025. Authors from SDSU include James W. Amell. 

This article details a systematic review of 27 publications related to resilience and family resilience among families experience homelessness and/or housing instability. Resilience related factors were identified and categorized across three domains including 1) individual factors such as perseverance, optimism and problem solving; 2) interpersonal factors such as social support and parenting approaches; and 3) community and environmental factors related to the impact of organizational staff. Overall, the study identified a need to integrate individual, interpersonal and community components into related research and practice. 

Published in Rhetoric of Health and Medicine in May 2025. Authors include Rebecca Kuehl, Jenn Anderson and Stephanie Hanson, all from SDSU. 

This review article examines existing scientific literature related to perinatal mental health disorders and specifically how narrative and social support can be used as tools for communicating about perinatal mental health disorders in rural communities. Perinatal mental health disorders include perinatal depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis. U.S. rural communities often lack access to perinatal and mental health care; taken together, this health issue of perinatal mental health disorders in the rural United States is complex. The review concludes with a recommendation that more research is needed related to communication about perinatal mental health conditions in the rural U.S. 

Published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association in May 2025. Authors from SDSU include Alex W. Middendorf, Christopher B. Robbins, Deidra Van Gilder and Erin E. Miller. 

This study details the development and evaluation of a systematically targeted recruitment method for enrolling patients in a medication packaging program. Medication synchronization and packaging have been shown to increase patients’ adherence to medications, but many qualified patients are not enrolled despite the availability of the services. In this study, Lewis Drug partnered with SDSU to develop a targeted recruitment strategy to enroll patients based on pharmacy records like medications, adherence and risk score. Overall, the targeted recruitment approach was successful. Furthermore, enrollment from untargeted recruitment approaches increased during the intervention, indicating the positive indirect effects targeted approaches can have on cumulative enrollment. 

Published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences in April 2025. Authors from SDSU include Aime F. Irabin and Joshua Reineke. 

Immunotherapy is rising in interest as an alternative approach to antibiotics for fighting bacterial infections. This study evaluates the synthesis of a new potential immunotherapy for bacterial infections. This manuscript details a study synthesizing lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles conjugated with two immunomodulatory agents, namely curdlan and mycolic acid. Findings suggest that curdlan exhibits a more complex immunoregulatory role as demonstrated by the countered stimulated behavioral effect while inflammation remained heightened. Interestingly, the study also uniquely utilized zebrafish larvae as a screening tool in the development of nanoparticle immunotherapies to success. 

Published in the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy in February 2025. Authors from SDSU include Shanna K. O’Connor. 

This article details the development and validation of an expanded rubric for assessing innovation in pharmacy regulation. Licensure of pharmacy personnel and facilities is overseen by state boards of pharmacy. One approach used by many states is the Standard of Care regulatory model, which enables pharmacists to provide the broadest range of services. This study built upon the Pharmacy Regulatory Innovation Index to develop and validate a rubric which can be used as a tool to evaluate pharmacy regulatory innovation in the United States and support advocacy efforts. 

Published in Nucleic Acids Research in November 2024. Authors from SDSU include Karabi Saha, Grace I. Nielsen, Raj Nandani, Yizi Zhang, Lingqi Kong, Ping Ye and Wenfeng An. 

LINE-1 is an active autonomous transposable element, DNA sequences that can move from one location to another, in human and mouse genomes. This study focused on developing a method for the transcription of LINE-1. Transcription is the process of making an RNA copy of a DNA sequence — this copy is called a “messenger RNA,” or an mRNA. Using site-directed mutagenesis, in vitro binding and gene knockdown assays, this study experimentally tested the role of YY1, a binding motif, in mouse L1 transcription. The study found that the putative YY1-binding site is functional and required for Tf promoter while the predicted YY1-binding site in Gf_I promoter is not functional. The large number of YY1-binding sites in transposable elements, like LINE-1, has implications for gene regulation at the genome level.