SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Ryoko Pentecost, MN, RN is a PhD student at the University of Utah College of Nursing. She is driven to advance her career and leadership in healthcare by conducting groundbreaking nursing research to enhance the delivery of care to patients. She also strives to serve as a nursing faculty member, in order to provide contributions to the evolving future of nursing. Her research interests sparked during her undergraduate career, providing her with opportunities to attend national and regional research conferences, which led to her first publication in supportive needs for adolescents and breastfeeding. Currently, Ms. Pentecost serves as an Applied Research Coordinator, supporting the logistics and oversight of investigator-initiated studies at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center (SLRMC). In both her academic and nursing career, Ms. Pentecost has been awarded the Student Research Initiative Fellowship from Boise State University (BSU), the American Psychiatric Nurse Association/Janssen Student Scholar and the Nursing Research Fellowship at SLRMC, which she currently serves as the Senior Research Fellow. Her dissertation will focus on the understudy of maternal mental health and opioid abuse during pre/post-pregnancy in rural areas. The study aims to identify and implement resources in rural areas for maternal mental healthcare, a population that is often underrepresented. Ms. Pentecost obtained her BS in Hospitality Management from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas and her BSN and MN in Nursing Populations from BSU. Ms. Pentecost is passionate about psychiatry and women’s health and believes research offers boundless opportunities to generate new knowledge to advancing healthcare.