Hudspeth named to NACDS Foundation Faculty Scholars Program
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 21, 2026) — Nearly nine out of 10 Americans live within five miles of a community pharmacy, yet vaccine rates remain stubbornly low, particularly in rural communities where access to other healthcare settings is limited. Brooke Hudspeth, PharmD, CDCES, believes pharmacists are the key to closing that gap, and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation has selected her to help prove it.
Hudspeth, Kentucky Pharmacists Association endowed associate professor and chief practice officer at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, has been named a 2026–2027 Faculty Scholar by the NACDS Foundation — one of only six pharmacy faculty nationwide chosen for the honor. An alumna of the college's Doctor of Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy Residency programs, she has dedicated her career to expanding access to care across the Commonwealth, with expertise spanning diabetes, obesity, health disparities and vaccines.
The NACDS Foundation Faculty Scholars Program is a competitive, 18-month research mentorship program that pairs faculty members from U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy with seasoned research experts. Through NACDS Foundation starter grants, scholars transform research ideas into published manuscripts, advancing the evidence base for pharmacist-led, community-based care.
As a faculty scholar, Hudspeth will conduct a research pilot project evaluating the impact of pharmacist-delivered vaccine safety counseling on vaccine uptake in community pharmacies. Despite pharmacists' well-documented role in improving vaccine uptake through patient education and direct administration, implementation barriers — including workflow, staffing, operational and billing challenges — continue to limit their full impact.
Hudspeth's project builds on the foundation laid by Flip the Pharmacy (FtP), a national initiative focused on transitioning community-based pharmacies from point-in-time, prescription-level care to longitudinal, patient-centered care models. The UK College of Pharmacy joined the initiative in 2020, engaging 29 pharmacies and supporting the submission of more than 34,000 patient care plans over the project period.
Her research extended that work through FtP 2.0, a Community Pharmacy Foundation-funded project titled "Transforming Pharmacy Practice: Sustainable Billing Solutions in Kentucky and Beyond," which established a network of pharmacist coaches to implement comprehensive vaccine safety counseling across Kentucky community pharmacies and assisted in billing Medicaid for these services. This project was designed to expand access to vaccines in underserved communities in a financially sustainable manner that would ensure service continuation beyond the grant.
"Community pharmacies are where so many Kentuckians turn for their healthcare needs, and pharmacists are uniquely positioned to have meaningful conversations about vaccine safety and build trust with their patients," Hudspeth said. "This research will help us better understand how pharmacist-delivered counseling can move the needle on vaccine uptake and give us a roadmap for sustainable, scalable implementation across the Commonwealth and beyond."
"Dr. Hudspeth's selection by the NACDS Foundation is a testament to the caliber of work being done at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy," said Craig Martin, PharmD, interim dean. "The research coming out of our college impacts patients here in the Commonwealth and shapes pharmacy practice and public health policy on a national scale. Her work on vaccine access and pharmacist-delivered care is exactly the kind of innovative, community-driven research that demonstrates the vital role pharmacists play in our healthcare system."
Hudspeth's work will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences, including the 2027 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, July 10–13, 2027, in Toronto, Canada. The 2026–2027 Faculty Scholars will participate in frequent mentor meetings, small cohort working groups and an online lecture series, with experienced community-based pharmacy researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Washington serving as program facilitators.
For more information about the NACDS Foundation and the Faculty Scholars Program, visit NACDSFoundation.org.