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
Patient-reported pregnancy loss and maternal complications: Insights from the sickle cell disease implementation consortium.
Journal Article Int J Gynaecol Obstet · March 2025 OBJECTIVE: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with complications during pregnancy and can negatively influence maternal outcomes. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of maternal morbidity among participants enrolled in an eight- ... Full text Link to item CiteParticipant experiences receiving acupuncture for acute musculoskeletal pain in an emergency department: A qualitative evaluation.
Journal Article PLoS One · 2025 OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture is an evidence-based pain treatment in clinic settings, but its optimal delivery has not been established in emergency departments (EDs). As part of an adaptive pragmatic randomized controlled trial of ED acupuncture for acute muscul ... Full text Link to item CiteBarriers and Facilitators to Integrating Acupuncture into the U.S. Health Care System: A Scoping Review.
Journal Article J Integr Complement Med · December 2024 Background: Acupuncture is a widely practiced complementary and integrative health modality that has multiple clinical applications. The use of acupuncture in the United States is rapidly increasing. Although studies have shown the efficacy and effectivene ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent 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 - 2029Community Acupuncture to Treat Chronic Pain in North in North Carolina
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Davis · 2023 - 2026Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of Guided Relaxation and Acupuncture for Chronic Sickle Cell Disease Pain
Clinical TrialCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by University of Illinois at Chicago · 2020 - 2025View All Grants