Rate My Professor Barbara Reyna

Barbara Reyna, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, is an Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. She serves as Department Chair of Graduate Nursing Programs and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Specialty Lead, teaching neonatology in the DNP program and post-professional certificate track. Reyna represents Health Professionals on the General Faculty Council and is a member of the Dean’s Council. With over 40 years of experience in neonatal nursing, including 38 years as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, she joined the University of Virginia in 2017. Prior to this, she was affiliated with Virginia Commonwealth University Health System and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, contributing extensively to neonatal care.

Reyna earned her BSN from Binghamton University, an NNP certificate from West Virginia University, and both her MSN and PhD in Nursing Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010. Her doctoral dissertation, titled 'Mother-Infant Synchrony during Infant Feeding,' explored synchrony in feeding interactions between mothers and preterm infants, developing and testing the Maternal-Infant Synchrony Scale. Her research specializations include neonatal feeding progression, mother-infant interactions, preterm infant outcomes, and the role of non-nutritive sucking. Key publications include 'Mother-infant Synchrony' (Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 2009), 'A Descriptive Study of Mothers’ Experiences Feeding Their Preterm Infants After Discharge' (Advances in Neonatal Care, 2006), 'Relationship of the First Suck Burst to Feeding Outcomes in Preterm Infants' (2006), 'Effects of Non-Nutritive Sucking on Nutritive Sucking, Breathing, and Behavioral State in Preterm Infants' (2004), and co-authored works such as 'Strategies to Improve Mother’s Own Milk Expression in Black and Hispanic Mothers of Premature Infants' (2022) and 'Role of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in the Community Hospital' (2019). Reyna's contributions enhance graduate nursing education and neonatal practice through her leadership in the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program and scholarly work on infant feeding and neurodevelopmental risks.