woman with glasses and short dark hair in blue top, smiling slightly

Paula Riess Sherwood, PhD, RN, CNRN, FAAN

Professor of Nursing
Department
Nursing Research
Office
McLeod 5040
Phone
(434) 243-3974

Biography

Professor Paula Sherwood is a nurse scientist with an expansive, impressive career mentoring developing faculty members, students, and future nurse scientists. With four R01 grants totaling more than $8 million, and disseminated findings in more than 100 peer reviewed manuscripts, she has been tapped for leadership roles with the National Institute for Nursing Research, the National Cancer Institute, the Oncology Nursing Society, and the Neuroscience Nursing Foundation.

A Fulbright alumna connected to a host of international research collaborators, Sherwood also served as the United States leader on a multi-nation grant sponsored by the European Union designed to evaluate the quality of cancer care, and is currently lead investigator on another multi-country evaluation of healthcare utilization for neurology-oncology care. In addition to becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2011, Sherwood earned a CANS “Investigator with a Brilliant Future Award,” a New Investigator Award from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing's Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Sherwood earned a PhD from Michigan State, an MSN from the University of Iowa, and a BSN from JMU, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh before accepting a faculty position there in 2005, until her 2024 arrival at UVA. A Clinical Nurse Specialist and a certified registered neuroscience nurse, she is a member of and leader in the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, the National Brain Tumor Foundation, the European Association of Neuro-Oncology, and many other professional organizations. She co-founded and is an active member of the International Consortium of Neuro-Oncology Caregivers, an organization designed to unite supportive care researchers in neuro-oncology caregiving across the globe.

Research Focus

Cancer care in global environments Cancer care quality Healthcare utilization in neurology-oncology care Neurological nursing Nursing education and mentoring

Publications

Advance Online Publications

Sherwood, P., Boele, F., Weimer, J., Marsland, A., Drappatz, J., Armstrong, T., Terhorst, L., & Donovan, H. (2025). Neuro-oncology caregiver intervention associated with changes in C-reactive protein. Cancer Nursing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0000000000001507

Online Journals

Foertsch, L., Sherwood, P., & Scott, P. (2025). The effect of clinical judgment methods for care plan development in nursing students. Nursing Education Perspectives, . https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001441

Boele, F., Hertler, C., Sherwood, P., Cachia, D., Dirven, L., Young, J., Walbert, T., Stockdill, M., Almaraz, E., & Piil, K. (2024). Reporting standards in randomized controlled trials involving family caregivers in neuro-oncology: A systematic review. Neuro-Oncology Practice, npae086.

Journal Articles

Zarrella, G., Fox, A., Laughan, A.R., Lanoye, A., Aslanzaden, F.J., Sherwood, P., & Braun, S. (2025). Primary malignant brain tumor patients’ cognition and their caregivers: The good, the bad, and the burden. Journal of the International Neuropsychology Society. (), 678-685. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617725101598

Nordentoft, S., Boele, F., Guldager, R., Larsen, A., Hertler, C., Sherwood, P., Pappot, H., Mathiesen, T., & Piil, K. (2025). Group-based interventions for caregivers to patients diagnosed with a brain tumor – A systematic review. Neuro-oncology Practice. 12 (6), 983-997. https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npaf070

Harlan, M.D., Skrovanek, E., Torgerson, S., Perpetua, Z., O’Loughlin, V., Hudack, C., Yen, A., Ren, D., & Sherwood, P. (2025). Meaningful Mentorship: Evaluation of a Mentorship Program to Reduce Burnout in Nursing Students and Graduate Nurses. Nurse Educator. 00 (0), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001915

Vitko, H., Keyrouze, K., & Sherwood, P. (2025). The underserved survivors of non-malignant brain tumors. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 29 (4), 110-117. https://doi.org/10.1188/25.CJON.E110-E117

Boele, F., Hertler, C., Dirven, L., Piil, K., & Sherwood, P. (2024). Family caregiver outcome measures in neuro-oncology: A systematic review. Neuro-Oncology Practice, 9(6), 465-474.

Books

Willis, K. D., Reid, M. P., Fox, A., Kleva, C. S., Sherwood, P., Loughan, A. R. (2024). The impact of a primary brain tumor diagnosis on caregivers: Insights from the patients’ perspective. Supportive care in cancer.

Book Sections

Applebaum, A., Willis, K., & Sherwood, P. (2024). Caregiver stress in neuro-oncology. In Newton, H. & Loughan, A. (Eds.), Neuropsychological and psychosocial foundations of Neuro-Oncology (567 ed., pp. 576-Elsevier Inc).