Overview
Dr. Mitchell Knisely, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, PMGT-BC, FAAN is a tenured Associate Professor in the Healthcare in Adult Populations Division of the Duke University School of Nursing.
Dr. Knisely’s research focuses on the application of precision health approaches to understand and ameliorate pain and promote equitable pain care in individuals with sickle cell disease and other chronic pain conditions. His program of research includes studies seeking to understand biopsychosocial contributors to individuals' pain experiences, as well as pragmatic clinical trials evaluating the use of non-pharmacological interventions (e.g., acupuncture) for the treatment of acute and chronic pain.
Dr. Knisely is board certified as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist and in Pain Management Nursing. He earned his BSN from Purdue University and his MSN and PhD from Indiana University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in genomics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and trained at NIH's National Institute of Nursing Research Summer Genetics Institute. His research and training have been supported by several internal and external grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Knisely is a Fellow in the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders & Innovators and was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Knisely serves on the Editorial Board for Pain Management Nursing and is also actively involved in the American Society for Pain Management Nursing, United States Association for the Study of Pain and the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Improving the Quality of Whole-Person Healthcare Delivery: Critical Components of a Sickle Cell Disease Nurse Navigator Role.
Journal Article Prof Case Manag · November 2025 PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a complex genetic hemoglobinopathy which is associated with a severely shortened lifespan; the median age of death remains in the low 50's. Individuals living with SCD have complex medical, psychological, an ... Full text Link to item CitePain Relief Should Not Have a Zip Code: Nurses Call to Action to Address Rural Pain Care Disparities.
Journal Article Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · October 2025 Full text CiteOpioid-related Transitions for Chronic Pain Management: A Concept Analysis.
Journal Article Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · August 2025 BackgroundPeople who are prescribed opioids for pain management may undergo transitions of care. However, little is known about transitions of care that involve a prescribed opioid, which may have significant consequences for people with chronic p ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Advancing a Holistic Understanding of Variability in Lived Experience with Sickle Cell Pain
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 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 - 2029Community Acupuncture to Treat Chronic Pain in North in North Carolina
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Davis · 2023 - 2026View All Grants