Jonathan Thigpen oversees the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Samford University's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. He obtained his PharmD from Samford University before completing two postdoctoral fellowships; University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine (pharmacoepidemiology/pharmacogenetics) and Duquesne University School of Pharmacy (academia/research). From there, he entered academia as full-time faculty at Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Pharmacy.

After six years in Baltimore, and having cemented his passion for academia, his journey took him back to Samford where he serves in his current role. His primary responsibilities are to oversee the curriculum, lead curriculum assessment, optimization and change, and empower faculty, staff, and students in their professional development.

He is extensively involved in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), having held various leadership roles among its standing and ad hoc committees, councils, sections, and special interest groups.

In his free time, he enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two children.

Degrees and Certifications

• PharmD,  Samford University
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Academia and Research, Duquesne University
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacogenetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine

Honors and Awards

• AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program
• University of California, Berkeley – Greater Good Science Center
  • Learning Fellowship – Project-Based Cohort
  • Bridging Differences Community of Practice – Campus Cohort
• Heterodox Academy
  • Campus Community Network – Samford co-leader
  • Health Professions Education Community – Community Moderator
  • Speakers Bureau
• Samford University – McWhorter School of Pharmacy – Scholar Award
• AJPE Associate Editor
• AJPE Top 25 Reviewer 2019, 2022, 2023
• Teacher of the Year – Notre Dame of Maryland University, 2019
• Rho Chi

Involvement 

• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
• American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• University of California, Berkeley – Greater Good Science Center
• Heterodox Academy

Expertise

• Higher Education – Administration, Culture, and Social Sciences
• Curriculum
• Assessment
• Admissions
• Professional Development (teaching, scholarship, service)
• Public Health and Health Disparities
• Clinical Research

Recent Publications

• Aleda M.H. Chen, Jonathan Thigpen, Kevin N. Astle, Michelle L. Blakely, Radhika Devraj, Surajit Dey, Abby A. Kahaleh. A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Outcomes of a Peer Review Mentoring Program. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 90, Issue 3, 2026, 101936, ISSN 0002-9459, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2026.101936.
• Jenni Beall, Terri M. Brown, Erika Cretton-Scott, Jonathan Thigpen. Foundation for the creation of a laboratory skills toolkit: A case study. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2025, 101891, ISSN 0002-9459, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2025.101891.
• Jonathan Thigpen, Kevin N. Astle, Aleda M.H. Chen, Surajit Dey, Michael Hegener. Development and Implementation of a Peer Review Training Program. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 89, Issue 12, 2025, 101884, ISSN 0002-9459, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2025.101884.
• Seena L. Haines, Kelly C. Lee, Kelly N. Gable, Jonathan Thigpen, et al. Exploration of Psychosocial Hazards: Core Values, Justice and Fairness, and Social Support to Address Workforce Well-Being. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 89, Issue 8, 2025, 101460, ISSN 0002-9459, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2025.101460.
• Riley Bowers, Kayla R. Stover, Dana A. Strachan, Jeremy Hughes, Krystal L. Edwards, Amy Diepenbrock, John Brock Harris, Vanishree Rajagopalan, Jonathan Thigpen, Jayesh Parmar, Hoai-An Truong, Pamela Koerner, J. Andrew Orr-Skirvin, Marcos Oliveira. The Role of Consumerism in Pharmacy Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 88, Issue 6, 2024, 100708, ISSN 0002-9459, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2024.100708.
• Adunlin G, Broeseker AE, Thigpen JL, Sheaffer EA, Calhoun M. Pharmacy Students’ Perspectives on Human Resource Management: An Examination of Knowledge and Attitudes. Pharmacy. 2024; 12(1):27. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy12010027.
• Jonathan Thigpen, Deborah Naccarini, Sherry L. Moore, Nicole S. Culhane. Incorporating Interprofessional Education into a Required Introductory Pharmacy and Nursing Didactic Course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2023, 100123, ISSN 0002-9459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100123.
• Heather N. Folz, Jazmin Black, Jonathan Thigpen. Evaluation of a murder mystery activity to teach patient communication interviewing skills. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 2023; ISSN 1877-1297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2023.06.006.
• Chris Johnson, Jonathan Thigpen, Amy M. Franks. Strengthen Academic Pharmacy by Protecting Self-Expression. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 87, Issue 6, 2023, 100112, ISSN 0002-9459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100112.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Social Media Resource Guide for Faculty, Students, Staff, and Administrators: Harnessing Its Power to Further the Professional Goals and Image of the Profession. Arlington, VA (2022).
• Heather N. Folz, Andrea R. Gauld, Bethany A. Ford, Jonathan Thigpen. National survey of schools of pharmacy on prevalence and description of wellness initiatives. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2021.07.002.
• Jonathan Thigpen, Emmeline Tran, Damianne Brand, Vibhuti Agrahari. Technology: Deux Ex Machina. CPTL Pulses. September 15, 2020. Link
• Chapters “Open-Door Policy: A Window into Creation, Implementation, and Assessment”, “Interprofessional collaboration: Transforming public health through teamwork”, “The “state” of things: Epidemiologic comparisons across populations”, “Saying what you mean doesn’t always mean what you say: Cross-cultural communication“, and “More than just diet and exercise: Social determinants of health and well-being”. In: Covvey JR, Arya V, DiPietro Mager N, Gilman N, Herring M, Ochs L, Waddington L, eds. Public health in pharmacy practice: a casebook. 2nd ed. Genesco, NY: Milne Open Textbooks; 2021. Available at: https://milneopentextbooks.org/public-health-in-pharmacy-practice-a-casebook-2nd-edition/.
• Min Kwon, Ashley E. Moody, Jonathan Thigpen, Andrea Gauld. Implementation and Evaluation of an Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Distribution Training in a Pharmacist Laboratory. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. February 2020, 84 (2) 7179; DOI: Link.
• Sharon Park, Jonathan Thigpen, James Lee. Coverage of pharmacogenetic tests by private health insurance companies. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2019. DOI: Link.
• Jonathan Thigpen. The Need for Political Diversity in Professional Health Education. Areo. April 16, 2019.
• Darae Ko, Jonathan L. Thigpen, James A. Otis, Kristen Forster, Lori Henault, Emily Quinn, Yorghos Tripodis, Peter B. Berger, Nita Limdi, Elaine, M. Hylek. Influence of statin therapy at time of stroke onset on functional outcome among patients with atrial fibrillation. Int J Cardiol. 2017 Jan 15;227:808-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.10.055.
• Fritsch MA, Culver N, Culhane N, Thigpen J, Lin A. AdvoCaring: A Cocurricular Program to Provide Advocacy and Caring to Underserved Populations in Baltimore. Am J Pharm Educ. 2016 Sep 25;80(7):126. PubMed PMID: 27756934.
• Aronis KN (co-first author), Thigpen JL (co-first author), Tripodis Y, Dillon C, Forster K, Henault L, Quinn EK, Berger PB, Limdi NA, Hylek EM. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and the hazards of under-treatment. Int J Cardiol. 2016 Jan 1;202:214-20. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.09.006.
• Limdi NA, Brown TM, Yan Q, Thigpen JL, Shendre A, Liu N, Hill CE, Arnett DK, Beasley TM. Race influences warfarin dose changes associated with genetic factors. Blood. 2015 May 29. DOI: 10.1182/blood-2015-02-627042.
• Thigpen JL, Dillon C, Forster KB, Henault L, Quinn EK, Tripodis Y, Berger PB, Hylek EM, Limdi NA. Validity of International Classification of Disease Codes to Identify Ischemic Stroke and Intracranial Hemorrhage among Individuals with Associated Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2015 Jan;8(1):8-14. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.113.000371. PMCID: PMC4654947.
• Thigpen JL, Limdi NA. Reversal of Oral Anticoagulation. Pharmacotherapy. 2013 Apr 18. DOI: 10.1002/phar.1270. PMCID: PMC3800206

Recent Presentations

• Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, 2026. “Courageous Curriculum: Expanding Students’ Circles of Care”.
• Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, 2025. “Bridge Building”.
• Mini-Conference on Teaching and Learning, Samford University, 2025. “Rebuilding and Sustaining Trust in Higher Education”.
• Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy, Bali, Indonesia, 2025. “Trust in Medicine”.
• Healthcare Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute, Samford University, 2025. “Overview: The Anxious Generation”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 2024. “Trials and Tribulations: Academic Freedom in the Modern Age”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 2024. “Social Connection: Reconceptualizing How to Create Community in Pharmacy Academia”.
• University of California, Irvine, 2022 and 2023. “Health Equity and Policy”.
• Mini-Conference on Teaching and Learning, Samford University, 2023. “Telos of the University”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Aurora, CO, 2023. “Is it Time to Reimagine the Peer Review Process for Scholarly Publication?”.
• American Therapeutic Recreation Association Annual Conference, Virtual, 2022. “Overcoming the “Polarized Mind”: Utilizing Viewpoint Diversity to Build Bridges with Colleagues and Patients”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Grapevine, TX, 2022. “Navigating the “Wild Wild Web” of Professionalism and Social Media”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Grapevine, TX, 2022. “AJPE Reviewer Mentorship Program”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting (Virtual), 2021. “Us vs. Them: Exploring Viewpoint Diversity and Mitigating the Ramifications of Polarization”.
• Student Development Series, Wingate University, 2021. “Knowledge and Empathy: The Importance of Viewpoint Diversity”.
• Heterodox Academy, 2021. “On the Outside Looking In: Practitioners vs. Patients.”
• Elevate!, Samford University, 2021. “Curricular Alignment”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL 2019. “Improving pharmacy education through creation of a nationwide educational collaborative: the example of antimicrobial stewardship”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL 2019. “Are you ready? Integrating emergency preparedness into the pharmacy curriculum”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Boston, MA 2018. “Healthcare Reform: Training Pharmacy Students to Empower Patients to Navigate the Changing Healthcare Environment”.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy – 2017 webinar. “The Role of Public Health Education in the Pharmacy Curriculum”.

Research Areas 

• Higher Education – Administration, Culture, and Social Sciences
• Curriculum and Assessment
• Public Health and Pharmacoepidemiology