Brandon Knettel, Ph.D.
Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Associate Professor of Nursing and Global Health
Bio
Brandon Knettel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Nursing and Global Health, joined the faculty at Duke in 2020 after completing the NIH Fogarty Global Health Fellowship in Moshi, Tanzania. Knettel earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Lehigh University and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN.
For Knettel, mentoring is about helping students find their own balance between ambition and well-being, between skill-building and long-term purpose. In his appointments in the School of Nursing and the Duke Global Health Institute, Knettel encourages his mentees to think carefully about what they want from their training, how their work fits into larger systems of care, and how they can sustain themselves over the course of demanding careers.
Knettel is a member of the Duke University School of Nursing Faculty Governance Association Executive Committee and the Ph.D. Program Committee, and has served on multiple institutional task forces, including faculty workload and judicial process review committees. Knettel has also contributed to national and international grant review panels for the NIH Fogarty International Center, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and other funding bodies, reflecting his sustained commitment to advancing research and training in global mental health.
Knettel believes that while clinical work allows for deep one-on-one impact, mentoring offers the possibility of change at scale, through trainees who go on to improve care and lead with compassion.
On Mentoring
The benefits of a mentoring relationship for the mentee are obvious, but what do you, as the mentor, gain from it?
The reason I chose this career, the mental health field, and my program of research are because of the ability to have a positive influence on other people. As a clinician, I could help one patient at a time, but positively influencing systems of care, and mentoring a new generation of trainees to think from that systems perspective, is how we see real change. Knowing that I have brilliant mentees who are going into their careers focused on providing compassionate and equitable care to all people makes me more hopeful for the future.
Who are some good mentors you have had, and are there mentoring practices or traits from them that you have tried to incorporate into your own approach to mentoring?
My postdoc mentors here at Duke, Melissa Watt and Kathy Sikkema, were exceptional. They supported me to learn and grow as a professional, and also showed that they cared deeply about me as a person. Also, when Melissa and Kathy left Duke in the same year, Michael Relf in the School of Nursing and John Bartlett stepped up in a huge way, advocating for me to move into my faculty role. All four continue to be valued mentors and treasured examples of how to always put people first in a highly demanding academic environment.
How have you evolved as a mentor compared to when you first started mentoring?
I have made a big transition toward trusting my mentees to step up and lead. Early in my career, I often worried about tasks getting done "the right way" and I felt that meant I needed to be very involved in the daily tasks of my mentees' projects. However, Duke students are amazing, and they often learn by doing even more than they learn by watching. I still invest just as much time and energy in my mentees and their projects, but now in more of an advisory role.
In Others’ Words
Tributes from mentees and colleagues
“Dr. Knettel has gone above and beyond the call of duty to broaden my horizons as a new Ph.D. student. Being a faculty member at both DUSON and the DGHI, he facilitated connections with local and global researchers, enriching my global health pursuits. He has provided invaluable insights and helped me clarify my goals, even during moments of uncertainty, which were many. His mentorship extends beyond academic guidance, offering his support during personal challenges such as a new diagnosis in my family while preparing and undergoing my Ph.D. preliminary examination.”
“It is difficult to capture in words what Dr. Brandon Knettel’s mentorship has meant to me. He has been more than an advisor, he has been a compass, a teacher, and at times, a lifeline. From the moment I joined his research team, he offered me a space to find my footing and my voice as a researcher. I came in unsure, still learning what qualitative 2 research truly meant, and he took it upon himself to guide me patiently…and reminding me that good research begins with humility and care for the people behind the data.”
“From the start, Dr. Knettel recognized my research interests and actively cultivated them by integrating my ideas into the context of his own studies. As a co-mentor, he has collaborated with other faculty to support my personal and professional goals and has consistently gone out of his way to connect me with opportunities for growth, whether through conferences, grant writing, or continuing graduate education.”