Distinguished scientist: David Brett-Major, MD

This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers who will be honored at a ceremony on March 9 for UNMC’s Scientist Laureate, Research Leadership, Distinguished Scientist, New Investigator and Community Service to Research Award recipients.

• Name: David Brett-Major, MD
• Title: Professor, UNMC Department of Epidemiology
• Joined UNMC: December 2019
• Hometown: Davie, Florida

Please describe your research focus in three words or less: 

Pathogen agnostic risk

Why is research important in the world today? 

Asking questions and striving to answer them helps us to continually achieve better patient- and community-centered outcomes.

My research will make a difference because: 

Always chasing the next pathogen is like 4-year-olds playing soccer. Ultimately, we need the efficiency, sustainability and power of risk-management solutions that matter regardless of the threat.

The best advice I’ve ever received is: 

I have relied upon a lot of advice over the years. I have not received a best bit; they each mattered in their time and space. However, it is near my late father-in-law’s birthday. He used to say, “It is too late to duck when you already have been shot.”

Three things you may not know about me are:

• I expect you to do as I say and not as I do.
• The longer that I take to cook something, the worse it is. This happens to be a family trait.
• My work has not always been in health. But, like everyone else, health as a theme has always impacted my work. Consequently, thinking clearly and rigorously about those impacts and making well-informed choices is something that I believe that all of us can do.