Jennifer Christine Burnsed, MD
Neonatology
Bio & Overview
Jennifer Burnsed, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics at UVA Health Children's and co-director of the NeuroNICU program. She spends a significant amount of time outside the NICU in her research lab, working on neonatal brain injury.
Dr. Burnsed is passionate about mentoring trainees and students both in her lab and in the clinical environment. She serves as Program Director of the Neonatology Fellowship. Dr. Burnsed grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia. After graduating from UVA with a degree in psychology, Dr. Burnsed earned a master’s degree in physiology from Georgetown and a medical degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
She and her husband are high school sweethearts, and both fell in love with Charlottesville as undergraduates at UVA. After completing her fellowship training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, she was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to UVA in 2014, for her first faculty position in neonatology. She and her husband live on their farm in Crozet with their two young daughters and two rescue beagles.
Academic Information
- Department
- Pediatrics
- Academic Role
- Associate Professor
- Division
- Neonatal/Perinatal
- Gender
- Female
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Infants (0-2)
- Primary Education
- Drexel University College of Medicine
- Residency
- University of Virginia School of Medicine
- Fellowships
- Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Certification
- American Board of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine), American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics)
Highlights
Watch Dr. Burnsed's profile
Jennifer Burnsed:I'm Jennifer Burnsed, I'm a Neonatologist at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital. In the neonatal intensive care unit, we see critically ill babies. So, that can be a baby that's born prematurely, or any baby who has a surgical problem, or is born with a cardiac, neurologic problem or infection. My interest lies in the neonatal brain, so I'm very interested both in babies who have suffered a brain injury for various reasons whether it's prematurity or things that can happen prior to birth or around the time of birth. But also, I am very interested in helping babies develop normally. So babies that are born prematurely are in a really artificial environment in the NICU, their supposed to still be in their moms, so one of my interest points is really learning and researching how we can support them to thrive and have the best outcome that they possibly can. We really believe in team work in the NICU, so lots of nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, therapists, all forming a team around them and a support network to get them through that, hopefully short, but sometimes very long experience. My favorite part of the job is really being able to take care of a baby who's born very ill and see them through that very scary NICU stay and watch them go home with their parents.
Awards
- 2023 UVA Graduate Medical Education Excellence in Mentorship Award
- 2019 Best Bedside Manner Awards, OurHealth Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine; First Place, Neonatology
- 2018 Outstanding Investigator Award, UVA Junior Faculty Research Symposium
- 2018 Best Bedside Manner Awards, OurHealth Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine; Third Place, Neonatology