Skip to main content

Debra Huffman Brandon

Professor in the School of Nursing
School of Nursing
Box 3322, 307 Trent Drive, School of Nursing, Durham, NC 27710
School of Nursing Room 3077A, Pearson Building, Durham, NC 27710
Office hours By Appointment  

Overview


Debra Brandon, Professor joined the faculty of the Duke University School of Nursing in 1999. She was Director of the PhD Program in Nursing from from July of 2011 until January 30th of 2018. She is currently the Division Chair for the Division of Women, Children, and Families.  She also practiced as a Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Intensive Care Nursery of Duke University Medical Center from 1993 to 2012. Dr. Brandon is an active member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), the International Society for Infant Studies ISIS), and is a Co-editor in Chief for the journal Advances in Neonatal Care.  Dr. Brandon’s research focuses on understanding the impact of the environment of care on the health and development of high-risk infants and young children with an overall goal of implementing interventions to improve the short- and long-term outcomes of both the infants and their families.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the School of Nursing · 2024 - Present School of Nursing
Professor of Pediatrics · 2024 - Present Pediatrics, Clinical Science Departments

In the News


Published February 3, 2025
Celebrating Duke’s New Full Professors
Published February 27, 2018
Six Honored by Cook Society for Leadership & Community Activism

View All News

Recent Publications


Observational Video Study of Maternal Sleep During the 24 Hours Before Hospital Discharge After Childbirth

Journal Article JOGNN Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing · July 1, 2025 Objectives: To quantify maternal sleep during the 24 hours before hospital discharge after childbirth and to identify and describe the antecedents and contexts of waking. Design: Secondary analysis of data from an observational video study. Setting: Academ ... Full text Cite

Development and Implementation of a Protocol for NICU Discharge With Nasogastric Tube Feedings: Successes, Barriers, and Lessons Learned.

Journal Article Advances in neonatal care : official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses · June 2025 BackgroundThere is sufficient evidence to support safe discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with nasogastric tube (NGT) feedings when appropriate caregiver education, outpatient support, and feeding therapy are available.Purp ... Full text Cite

Feasibility of an Intervention to Support Shared Decision-Making for Critically Ill Infants.

Journal Article J Pediatr · May 2, 2025 OBJECTIVE: To develop and pilot an intervention to support communication and decision-making for critically ill infants. STUDY DESIGN: In this single-arm, mixed-methods, prospective, feasibility study, we enrolled infants, parents, and clinicians at a sing ... Full text Link to item Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Nurse LEADS: Training in Nurse-LEd models of care ADdressing the Social Determinants of Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Implementation of an Evidence-based Parentally Administered Intervention for Preterm Infants

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin · 2020 - 2026

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2000 Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 1981 M.S.N.