July 6, 2026
Ferris State Pharmacy students turn classroom outreach into measurable public health research
Ferris State Pharmacy and Nursing students reached more than 1,100 Michigan children last year with antibiotic awareness programming. Some of those students also designed the research to measure whether it worked.
The work runs through MARR, the Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction Coalition, a 20-year-old public health organization Ferris State's College of Pharmacy absorbed during the 2024-25 academic year through CAPE, the Collaborative to Advance Pharmacy Enterprises.
Dr. Michael Klepser, professor and senior director of CAPE in the college, and Dr. Kaylee Caniff, assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice and MARR's co-leader, expanded the coalition from a single-staff operation into a curriculum-integrated program spanning multiple health professions.
Those presentations — historically the work of one person — now flow through two Pharmacy electives at Ferris State: a research course and a public health course. Students in the research elective deliver presentations to K-12 classrooms, then collect and analyze data to evaluate whether student knowledge improved.
"While students have always been involved, now we're able to take that to the next step," Caniff said.
The measurement is holding up. Students who delivered MARR's middle school program last year collaborated with a Wayne State University Master of Public Health student to analyze the results.
Knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use improved significantly, and the gains held consistently across racial and ethnic groups. Preliminary data from the high school program showed similar results.
MARR designs separate packages for elementary, middle school, high school, and community audiences, each addressing antibiotic use, hand hygiene, and immunizations at the appropriate depth.
For the youngest students, Caniff's team brings glowing lotion and black lights into classrooms, coating children's hands and switching the lights off to reveal exactly where germs remain after washing.
"They're able to directly see what's happening when they wash their hands," Caniff said. "They get so excited about that."
Students also carry MARR-developed storybooks into classrooms and libraries, reading to young children and leaving copies behind. Many return to schools or libraries in their own communities.
"They just see that they're part of the community," Klepser said. "A lot of times, they end up going to their high school or their elementary school or their mom's library or something like that, and they can see that the students in the classroom respect what they're saying, and that's a good professional building opportunity for them."
Students involved with CHARM — the Collaboration to Harmonize Antimicrobial Registry Measures, which tracks outpatient prescribing patterns — develop a parallel research skill set, analyzing real prescribing data alongside the field work.
The program is expanding across health professions. Klepser partnered with Julie Herrema, DNP, RN, associate professor and BSN coordinator in Ferris State's School of Nursing, to bring nursing students into MARR presentations. Kimberly Beistle, professor and program coordinator in Ferris State's Department of Diagnostic, Laboratory, and Therapeutic Sciences, is incorporating oral health students as well.
The newest initiative crosses into digital media. Working with Vaarun Singireddy, associate professor in Ferris State's School of Digital Media, Klepser developed a video game targeting students in grades 5 through 8. A working version is expected within the month.
"What MARR has been doing is great," Klepser said, "but it screams 1990s."
"I can't take credit for that idea," Caniff said, "but I'm really excited about it."
The urgency driving that push: between 85 and 95 percent of human antibiotic use occurs in outpatient settings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with at least 28 percent of those prescriptions unnecessary.
"This was really an area that has been wild west," Caniff said. "We need boots on the ground to make sure that we're educating the public and supporting appropriate antimicrobial use in the outpatient setting."
Klepser sees every classroom visit as a recruiting moment.
"Every time our students go into a classroom to educate," he said, "they go in representing not only MARR, but representing Ferris."
MARR is housed in Ferris State's College of Pharmacy, one of three colleges of pharmacy in Michigan. Students interested in public health research and outreach opportunities through MARR can learn more on this page.