Sheridan Miyamoto, assistant professor of nursing and principal investigator of the SAFE-T Center, will be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Miyamoto will be formally recognized during the academy’s annual conference held virtually Oct. 29-31.
Fellowship in the academy reflects the nominee’s contribution to education, management, practice, policy and research. Additionally, fellows are integral to the academy’s goal of transforming America’s health system. Collectively, the fellows improve the public’s overall health and wellness through their influence of the nursing profession and healthcare.
“Sheridan Miyamoto is a true example of a nurse leader, innovator and educator. I am very pleased that the AAN has recognized these qualities in Sheridan, one of the numerous outstanding faculty members that I am proud to have in the Penn State College of Nursing,” said Laurie Badzek, dean of the College of Nursing.
Miyamoto’s work with the SAFE-T Center enhances sexual assault health care in rural and underserved areas by supporting on-site nurses performing sexual assault examinations by teaming them with expert Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, via telehealth technology. The pairing of telehealth technology with sexual assault research expertise, allows for peer review and guidance, and facilitates the collection of forensically defensible evidence throughout the examination while also helping to ensure support mechanisms for both the on-site nurse and the patient.
Miyamoto is a cofunded faculty member of the Social Sciences Research Institute (SSRI). Funding from SSRI supported her research aimed at preventing the sexual exploitation of children in the welfare system. Building upon her research studying child trafficking, through the Center for Rural PA as a co-principal investigator, Miyamoto examined the reports of child sexual abuse or sexual exploitation in Pennsylvania and identified several issues with the reporting process.
Additionally, Miyamoto is a faculty member in the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network where she is a co-investigator of the dissemination and outreach core of the Center for Healthy Children, the first national capstone center for child maltreatment studies funded by NIH and teaches in the Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies minor.
Miyamoto also is a fellow in the inaugural cohort of Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators and a recipient of the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. She has raised awareness of need for innovative programs to address sexual assault care through invited presentations to legislative bodies.
Miyamoto participated in several events and programs through Invent Penn State’s Startup Leadership Network and the Ben Franklin TechCelerator program designed to further the development of SAFE-T’s telehealth systems. Miyamoto joined the Penn State faculty in 2015. Additionally, she has served as a sexual-assault nurse examiner for adult and pediatric survivors of sexual assault. She earned her doctorate in nursing from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, master of science in nursing from Vanderbilt University, and bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California Davis.
In addition to Miyamoto, two Penn State alumni are among the 230 distinguished nurse leaders who will be officially inducted as fellows in the fall: Ashley Henneghan, a 2008 graduate of the BSN program; and Jean Lucas, a 1992 graduate of the BSN (bachlor of science in nursing) program.