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Plein Center for Aging

Student Research Opportunities

The Plein Center is providing a scholarship opportunity to foster student interest in aging-related research. This is a unique opportunity for students to engage in aging-related research under the mentorship of a faculty member. This program is designed to foster a deeper understanding of aging while immersing students in the research process. Through this experience, students will enhance their skills in research design, project collaboration, abstract development, and presentation, while gaining valuable insights into the field of aging.  

We are currently accepting applications for the 2025-2026 cohort of Plein Scholars. Please see below for further details about eligibility, funding, and application materials based on your status as a PharmD or Graduate Student. 

PharmD Students

Eligibility: Currently enrolled professional pharmacy degree (PharmD) students who are interested in aging research.

Funds: Awards of up to $5,000 per student for 2025-2026 (April-May) are available. Scholarship amounts will be awarded based on the total number of eligible applicants and meritorious funds and may be used for tuition and fees, research costs, poster-printing, and other education-related expenses.

Deadline: 5pm, Monday, March 31st, 2025 

Application Process:

  1. Review the possible project proposals listed below under 2025-2026 Plein Scholar Proposals or develop a summary of your ideas if you would like to pursue an idea that is not listed as a proposal. You may also work with a faculty mentor to develop a project not currently listed as a proposal.
  2. Reach out to faculty mentor by March 10th to allow time to develop the proposal and for them to write a letter of recommendation. Once an agreement is made, ask them to submit a letter of recommendation in support of your project by the application deadline.
  3. Develop a proposal that includes : 1) your mentor’s name; 2) summary of your interest in geriatrics and; 3) a description of the project (title, description of what will be done (methods), your role, the deliverable expected at project completion, and the significance of the project to the field of geriatrics). The proposal may be up to 2 pages double-spaced, 11-point font.
    • Current Plein Scholars in the 2024-2025 academic year are eligible to apply for a new project or new work related to their current project. In addition, you are required to submit an abstract (maximum 300 words) of the 2024-2025 project. In addition to the abstract, outline in the methods of the application how you are planning on extending the current project (e.g. awards are considered for new work).
  4. Submit Application: The project proposal must be submitted via Microsoft Forms. Please advise your faculty mentor to send their letter of recommendation to Smriti Patil (smritihp@uw.edu). All items must be received by the deadline to be considered.

Notifications and award cycle: Scholarship notifications will be sent by April 14, 2025, and funding will be available by the beginning of Autumn Quarter 2025.  

Requirements: A summary presentation of the project (~15 minutes) will be required during Spring 2026. The abstract will be due by May 31, 2026. Additional details will be provided.

Selection Criteria:

  • Interest in geriatric research
  • Quality of project description
  • Financial need as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid
  • For students with a current Plein Scholarship, successful completion of 2024-2025 work via abstract.

2025-2026 Plein Scholar Proposals

Faculty Email Project Title Description Deliverable Hours
Shelly Gray and Laura Hart slgray@uw.edu Medication Use Quality and Safety in Older Adults The student will assist and be a co-author with a brief review article of important geriatric research in the past year (2025). Responsibilities include scanning select key journals to identify articles, managing a database that includes selected articles, preparing a brief article write-up to include in the review, and preparing graphics to highlight results. Co-author on a review article submitted for publication to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 3-4 hours/week
Melissa Barker-Haliski mhaliski@uw.edu Training in neuropharmacology and preclinical research In an effort to better define the preclinical effects of promising investigational compounds for epilepsy in specific patient populations, such as the very old or the very young, as well as to discover new therapies for the treatment of epilepsy in older adults, we are developing novel animal models of Alzheimer’s-associated mutations and epilepsy to more closely replicate the clinical pathology and condition for antiseizure drug discovery and development. Manuscript submission or poster abstract presentation at a national/international conference 15-20 hours per week for one year
Graduate Students

Eligibility: Graduate students who are interested in aging research. *Please note that this year we are expanding our eligibility criteria to include all graduate students who are interested in aging research.  

Funds: Pilot grant awards of up to $5,000 per student for 2025-2026 (April-May) are available.    

Deadline: 5pm, Monday, April 14th, 2025  

Application Process:  

  1. Contact a faculty mentor and ask them to submit a letter of recommendation in support of your project.  
    • Letter of recommendation should include: 
      • Intellectual curiosity and engagement 
      • Personal characteristics   
      • Potential for a career in aging research  
  2. Submit a brief proposal that outlines: 1) your mentor’s name; 2) summary of your interest in aging research and; 3) a description of the project (Specific aims, Significance, Innovation, Methods). The proposal may be up to 5 pages double-spaced, 11-point font.  
  3. Submit a budget outlining a detailed breakdown of the expenditures that you intend to use the award for. Funds may be used for research-related costs including but not limited to supplies, core services and publication costs. Self-funded graduate students may use these funds for tuition. 
  4. Submit Application: The project proposal and budget must be submitted via Microsoft Forms. Please advise your faculty mentor to send their letter of recommendation to Smriti Patil (smritihp@uw.edu). All items must be received by the deadline to be considered. 

Notifications and award cycle: Scholarship notifications will be sent by April 30th, 2025.   

Requirements: A summary presentation of the project (~15 minutes) will be required to present during Spring Quarter 2026. A 300-word abstract will be due by May 31, 2026. Additional details will be provided.    

Selection Criteria:  

  • Academic merit  
  • Potential for outstanding success in geriatric research  
  • Interest in geriatric research 
  • Mentor letter of support 

Past Plein Scholars

2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Amrita Anand
Comprehensive Review of Geriatrics-Related Content in the UWSOP PharmD Didactic Curriculum

Shiven Bhardwaj
Assessing Impact of Synchronous Removal of Branded Products and Addition of Equivalent Generic Products to Medicare Part D Formularies.

Kiana Imani
Exploring Ageism in the Pharmacy Workforce Among Practicing Washington State Pharmacists

Miriam Liberman
Patterns of Attitudes of Ageism: Assessment of Ageism Interventions in the Pharmacy Curriculum

Selena Liu
Medication Use Quality and Safety in Older Adults

Bridgette Meza
Assessing Older Adult Inclusion: An Analysis of Core Pharmacy Education Textbooks

Ezinna Onukwufor
Interventions to Reduce Ageism in Pharmacy Students

Alicia Sasaki
Examining Potentially Inappropriate Over-the-Counter Medication use in Older Adults

Shiven Bhardwaj
Assessing Impact of Synchronous Removal of Branded Products and Addition of Equivalent Generic Products to Medicare Part D Formularies.

Amanda Bryan and Morgan Hoag
Sexual health in older adults: What is the pharmacist’s role?

Mary De Leon
Assessing the Impact of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Interventions on Optimizing Health Care for Older Adults

Kiana Imani
Ageism in the Pharmacist Workforce.

Kevin Li
Association between anticholinergic use and neuroimaging outcomes in ACT participants receiving clinical scans

Miriam Liberman
Ageism from the Student Lens

Hardik (Kanu) Maini
Translational Neuroscience Research

Nghi Nguyen
Pharmacist Review for Expired and Unused Medications

Gabi Perez
Translational Neuroscience Research

Chi Truong
Reducing hospital readmission by Pharmacists’ intervention through medication reconciliation

Su Vo
Geriatric Literature Update

Alex Zirkle
Pharmacist Approaches to Medication Therapy Problems for Older Adults in Emergency Medicine: A Qualitative Approach

Chi Truong
Reducing hospital readmission by Pharmacists’ intervention through medication reconciliation
Mentor: Trang Le

Kevin Li
Antidepressants vs. cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of depression in older adults: a cost-utility analysis
Mentor: Dave Veenstra

Michelle Nguyen
Pharmacist-initiated interventions to deprescribe or optimize medication use in older individuals: a narrative summary of randomized controlled trials
Mentor: Shelly Gray

Nghi Nguyen
Pharmacist review for expired or unused medications
Mentor: Abby Winter

Tim Soverns
Meta-analysis: interventions to reduce adverse drug reactions in older adults
Mentor: Shelly Gray

Ziqi Liu
Evaluation in areas for improvement – geriatric pharmacy APPEs
Mentor: Leigh Ann Mike

Alexandra Kuo
Pharmacy student perceptions of older adults – Impact of interactions on ageism

Amanda Fairbanks
“You’re too old for that…” a Self-Study Module to Combat Ageism in Healthcare

Anh Khaouly & Heidi Chen
Use of Geriatric Assessment in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A
Literature Review

Heather Huang
Improving transitions of care in geriatric patients with COPD through creation of multilingual informational pamphlets

Jinha Park
Listening to Older Adults

Logan So Jung Kim
Reducing Hospital Readmission by Pharmacists’ Intervention through Medication Reconciliation

Michelle Nguyen
Understanding Older Adults’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Self-Motivated Health Behaviors Regarding Use of OTC Anticholinergic Medications: A Focus on Assisted Living Facility Residents

Mrunal Bhalerao, Victoria Lam, & CJ Squires
Deprescribing Medications in Cognitively Impaired Older Adults and its Role in Caregiver

Ziqi Liu
Educational handouts for English as second language geriatric patients at International
Community Health Service Clinic.

Heather Huang
Comparative Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Physiology of Rapamycin (Sirolimus) on Aging in Animal Models and Humans.

Woojung Lee
The Use of Geriatric Assessment in Cancer Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review

Ananya Murali
Comparison of Anticoagulants/Antiplatelet drugs Based on Fall Risk Potential in Geriatric Patients

Caitlyn Tung
The Prevalence of Loneliness in Era Living Communities

Dana Hackett & Heidi Reynolds
Beers Criteria Talk / Continuing Education

Natalie Lim & Janey Guo
Reducing Hospital Readmission by Pharmacists’ Intervention through Medication Reconciliation

Ladan Mukherjee
Medication Safety in Nursing Homes

Nahid Khaghani
Use of Reversal Agents for Adverse Drug Reactions in Nursing Homes

Lena Chaitesipaseut
Analyzing Multi-year Falls Data to Improve Quality Outcomes at Era Living Facilities

Melissa Julyanti
SHAG Housing: Increasing Bone Health Awareness and Encouraging of Walks in a Senior Living Community

Richard Lee
i.) Chronic Condition Screening and the Assessment of Hypertension and Stroke Awareness Among Geriatric Patients in the Ekumfi district of Ghana
ii.) Cannabidiol Use in Geriatric Patients, a Literature Review and Study Design Creation for an Understanding of Perceptions with a Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices Study

Tamatha Mikes
PGx-MEDS: Medication Effectiveness Delivered Safely – Testing the Feasibility of Pharmacogenetic Testing to Optimize Medication Management

Tien Nguyen & Elizabeth Kong
Understanding the Needs of English-Second-Language Patients in Independent Living Facilities

Ananya Murali & Fendi Jan
From Hospital to Long-Term-Care (LTC): Assessing The Value Of Incorporating Inpatient Pharmacy Services To Improve Transitions Of Care And Reduce Medication Errors In Elderly Patients At Era Living Facilities

Michelle Lan. Impact of Osteoporosis Education Among Older Adults

Thanh Nguyen. Impact of Osteoporosis Education Among Older Adults

Tram Le. Developing Patient Education Pages for the Plein Center in Geriatrics

Quynh Tran. Developing Patient Education Pages for the Plein Center in Geriatrics

Mackenzie Bredereck. Identifying Potential for Pharmacist Involvement during Transitions of Care within ERA Living Communities

Soyoung Park. The Impact of Probiotics on Older Adults and Future Pharmacists’ Perception of Probiotics

Julia Yunkyung Yi. Review of the Impact of Pharmacist’s Intervention in Fall Risks in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment

Lena Chaitesipaseut. Analyzing multi-year data to improve medication-related quality outcomes

Mat Jenkinson. SHAG Housing Goes Back-to-School: Pharmacist Interventions for Safer Medication Practices

Sean Linn. Managing Medications During Transitions of Care, ERA Living Residents

Jane Nazareno. Mapping UWSOP Curriculum to the ASCP Geriatric Pharmacy Curriculum Guide

Sarah Tu. Marijuana for Chronic Pain in the Elderly

Yutong Yang. Roles of Chinese Community Pharmacists in Osteoporosis Prevention and Management through Elderly Patient Education

Jina Yun. Student-pharmacist-led fall risk outreach event in older community-dwelling adults

Diosalyn Alonzo. Pharmacist-Led Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence. Zach Marcum (mentor).

Kyle Bigham. Evaluating Pharmacist-Led Transitional Care Management Services at a Senior Health Clinic. Laura Hart (mentor).

Mackenzie Bredereck. Hospital Readmission Rates: Comparison between Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing Care. Jennifer Wilson Norton & Karan Dawson (mentors).

Mallory Farrar. Demonstrating the Safety Benefits and Cost Savings of Deprescribing Insulin in a Defined Subset of Geriatric Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Leigh Ann Mike (mentor).

Erica Hecker. Identifying the Clinical Factors Associated with Altered Intestinal Microbiota in Older Adults. Lingtak-Neander Chan (mentor).

Michelle Lan & Thanh Nguyen. Common Dietary Supplements for Cardiovascular Disease in Geriatric Population. Shelly Gray (mentor).

Julia Yunkyung Yi. Review of Medications as a Modifiable Risk Factor in Older Adults with a Recent Injurious Fall. Shelly Gray (mentor).

Monish Naidu. Transitions of Care among Older Adults with Cancer: The Role of Pharmacists. Zach Marcum (mentor).

Soyoung Park. Neurodegenerative Disorders and Medication Adherence in Older Adults. Tom Linder (mentor).

Marian Dobles. Description of an Interprofessional Falls Prevention Initiative in Community Dwelling Older Adults. Shelly Gray (mentor).

Alaina Jewell. Pharmacist Home Visits for Aging Adults. Don Downing (mentor).

Emily Kill. End-of-Life and Long Term Care Education in Schools of Pharmacy. Karan Dawson (mentor).

Moonjoo Koh & Rebekah Sadikin. Pharmacists Learning to Advocate for Nutrition in Elders with Diabetes. Michelle Averill (mentor).

Minako Berthet. Effect of Pharmacists Performing Medication Reconciliation and Medication Reviews in a Geriatric Clinic. Trang Le (mentor).

Student Presentations, Publications, and Posters

202420232022202120202019201820172016

Chua S, Todd A, Reeve E, Smith SM, Fox J, Elsisi Z, Hughes S, Husband A, Langford A, Merriman N, Harris JR, Devine B, Gray SL; Expert Panel. Deprescribing interventions in older adults: An overview of systematic reviews. PLoS One. 2024;19(6):e0305215. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305215. PMID: 38885276; PMCID: PMC11182547.

Ingraham BC, Barthold D, Coe NB, Fishman P, “Medicare Expenditures Among Spouses of Persons with Dementia,” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, published online July 8 2024. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.19074

Barthold D, Jiang S, Basu A, Phelan EA, Thielke ST, Borson S, Fendrick AM, “Utilization of low- and high-value healthcare by individuals with and without cognitive impairment,” American Journal of Managed Care, 2024; 30(7).

Nguyen M, Beier M, Louden D, Spears D, Gray SL. Pharmacist-led interventions to optimize medication use.  Sr Care Pharm 2023;38(12):506-523.

Gray SL, Perara S, Soverns T, Hanlon JT. Update of meta-analysis of interventions to reduce adverse drug reactions in older adults.  Drugs Aging 2023 Nov;40(11):965-979. doi: 10.1007/s40266-023-01064-y. Epub 2023 Sep 13

Gray SL, Fornaro R, Turner J, Boudreau DM, Wellman R, Tannenbaum C, Marcum ZA, Balderson B, Cook A, Jacobsen AL, Phelan EA. Provider knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy to deprescribe opioids and sedative-hypnotics.  J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023;71(5):1580-1586. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18202. Epub 2022 Dec 22. PMID: 36546768

Lee W, Gray SL, Zaslavsky O, Barthold D, Marcum ZA. Association between having a family member with dementia and perceptions of dementia preventability. Aging Ment Health. 2022 Feb;26(2):270-276. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2020.1839866. Epub 2020 Nov 2. PMID: 33131283; PMCID: PMC8088446.

Barthold D, Brouwer E, Barton LJ, Arterburn DE, Basu A, Courcoulas A, Crawford CL, Fedorka PN, Fischer H, Kim BB, Mun EC, Murali SB, Reynolds K, Yoon TK, Zane RE, Coleman KJ. “Minimum threshold of bariatric surgical weight loss for diabetes remission,” Diabetes Care, 2022; 45(1): 92-99, DOI: 10.2337/dc21-0714

Gray SL, Elsisi Z, Phelan E, Hanlon J.  Interventions to Reduce Fall-risk-increasing Drug Use to Prevent Falls: A Narrative Review of Randomized Trials.  Drugs Aging. 2021;38(4):301-309. doi: 10.1007/s40266-021-00835-9

Barthold D, Marcum ZA, Chen S,  White L, Ailabouni N, Basu A, Coe NB, Gray SL. “Difficulty with taking medications is associated with future diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2021; 36(4): 863-868. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06279-y

Lee W, Gray SL, Zaslavsky O, Barthold D, Marcum ZA. “Association between having a family member with dementia and perceptions of dementia preventability,” Aging and Mental Health, 2020; 26(2): 270-276, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2020.1839866

Marcum ZA, Tu S, Crawford C, Hirano L. Marijuana Use in Older Adults: Employing a Risk Reduction Strategy. Ann Pharmacother. 2019;53(7):760-761. doi:10.1177/1060028019838241

Lee W, Gray SL, Barthold D, Crane P, Larson EB, Marcum ZA. “Do Patient Concerns about Antihypertensive Use for Dementia Prevention vary by Current Use of Antihypertensive?” Patient Preference and Adherence, 2019; 13: 1809-1815, DOI: 10.2147/PPA.S216088

Park S, Marcum ZA. Interventions to improve medication adherence in older adults with cognitive impairment. Consult Pharm 2018;33:382-5.

Yi JY, Hart LA, Gray SL. Definitions of Fall Risk Increasing Drugs in the Literature: Challenges and Implications. Presented Research at American Society of Consultant Pharmacists National Meeting. November 2018, National Harbor, MD.

Yun, Jina. Student-pharmacist-led fall risk outreach event in older Korean adults: Summary of participants’ experience and satisfaction. Presented Research at American Society of Consultant Pharmacists National Meeting. November 2018, National Harbor, MD.

Farrar M, Mike LA. The Impact of Deprescribing Insulin in a Subset of T2DM Geriatric Patients: the Potential for Adverse Events Avoided and Cost Savings. Presented at AMCP Nexus, Dallas, TX 2017.

Farrar M, Mike LA. The Impact of Deprescribing Insulin in a Subset of T2DM Geriatric Patients: the Potential for Adverse Events Avoided and Cost Savings. Presented at Elder Friendly Futures Conference, Lynwood, WA 2017.

McDonald D, Chaitesipaseut L, Lan M. SB 5557: Washington Legislation Allows Patients Greater Access to Pharmacist Services. Presented at Elder Friendly Futures Conference, Lynwood, WA 2017.

Andrews C, Tran E, Lam A. Development and Growth of Student Involvement and Clinical Skills through the ASCP_UW Chapter During the 2015-2016 School Year. Presented at ASCP Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX 2016.

Dobles MJ, Chung SM, Murphy N, Gray SL. Description of an interprofessional falls prevention initiative in community dwelling older adults. Consult Pharm 2016;31:573. Presented at ASCP Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX 2016.

Lee G, Huang J, West R, Lam A. Overview of Transition of Care Processes in Two Washington State Hospitals. Presented at ASCP Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX 2016.