Overview
Debra Brandon, Bessie Baker Distinguished Professor of Nursing, joined the faculty of the Duke University School of Nursing in 1999. She was Director of the PhD Program in Nursing 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 Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Scholarly Works
A Caregiver–Infant Interaction Framework to Guide Nursing Approaches to Supporting Early Relational Health: From Theory to Nursing Action
Journal article Advances in Nursing Science · June 1, 2026 Early Relational Health, as prioritized by the American Academy of Pediatrics, emphasizes relationships that are safe, stable, and nurturing. The mechanisms that cultivate or harm such relationships are moment-to-moment caregiver–infant interactions (eg, a ... Full text CiteWorking With Large Qualitative Datasets: Key Processes From an Implementation Study in a Complex Clinical Setting
Journal article International Journal of Qualitative Methods · January 1, 2026 Collecting and analyzing qualitative research with large datasets is inherently complex and often difficult to convey in traditional manuscripts. Contemporary guidance on managing such datasets, especially those with multiple data sources, is limited. Impl ... Full text CiteSecondary trauma experiences while conducting qualitative health care research and strategies for research well-being
Journal article Qualitative Research · January 1, 2026 Full text CiteRecent Grants
2/3 CTSA K12 Program at Duke University
ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences · 2025 - 2030Nurse LEADS: Training in Nurse-LEd models of care ADdressing the Social Determinants of Health
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Nursing Research · 2024 - 2029Implementation of an Evidence-based Parentally Administered Intervention for Preterm Infants
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin · 2020 - 2026View All Grants