College of Nursing
University of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Brandon Varilek, PhD, RN, CCTC, CNE, CHPN, FPCN

Associate Professor, UNMC College of Nursing

402-559-1992

Brandon Varilek, PhD, RN, CCTC, CNE®, CHPN®, FPCN®

Dr. Brandon Varilek is an Associate Professor in the UNMC College of Nursing. His program of research is focused on mitigating health disparities and addressing social determinants of health that affect minoritized populations. Much of this work centers around persons with cancer or end-stage kidney disease and palliative care interventions. Active grants include the AIM-AHEAD Consortium Development Award through the NIH Office of Strategic Data Science to develop an explainable machine learning algorithm to generate a mortality risk score based on social determinants of health for integration into clinical partner EMR systems.

2013, BAN, Augustana University

2020, PhD, South Dakota State University

2024, Graduate Certificate, Interprofessional Palliative Care

  • Health Equity & Social Drivers of Health
  • Chronic Disease Management (End-Stage Kidney Disease)
  • American Indian/Alaska Native Health
  • Palliative & End-of-Life Care
  • 1/2026-6/2027  Co-Creating a Palliative Care Intervention for American Indian Adults with End-Stage Kidney Disease, $50,000, Brandon Varilek PI, Mary Isaacson, Co-I
  • 9/2023-9/2025  Developing Explainable Machine Learning and Computational Methods for Identifying Geographic and Racial Disparities in End Stage Renal Disease, $1,091,316, Semhar Michael PI, Brandon Varilek, Co-PI
  • 12/2022-5/2024   Palliative Care Use Among American Indians and Alaska Natives with End-Stage Renal Disease Caused by Diabetes, $55,688, Brandon Varilek PI.
  • 1/2022-6/2024   Adapting an Early Palliative Care Intervention for American Indian and Rural Patients with Advanced Cancer, $100,000, Sarah Mollman PI, Brandon Varilek Co-I.
  • 6/2021-12/2022   Achieving Health Equity for Rural Residents Living with Advanced Cancer: Adapting an Early Palliative Care Intervention, $10,642, Sarah Mollman PI, Brandon Varilek Co-I.
  • Varilek, B. M., & Isaacson, M. J. (2021). Female Veteran use of palliative and hospice care: A scoping review. Military Medicine,186(11-12), 1100-1105. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab005
  • Wiley, H. R. L., Varilek, B. M., Saucedo-Crespo, H., Sakpal, S. V., Auvenshine, C., Steers, J., Nelson, M. E., & Santella, R. N. (2021). Kidney transplant outcomes in Indigenous people of the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Transplantation Proceedings, 53(6), 1872-1879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.transproceed.2021.05.003
  • Seydel, A., Moutsouglou, N., Varilek, B. M., Minton, M. E., & Isaacson, M. J. (2022). Navigating disharmony: Nurse experiences providing end of life communication. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 24(6), 328-334. https://doi.org/10.1097/njh.0000000000000909   
  • Varilek, B. M., & Da Rosa, P. (2023). Analysis of palliative care knowledge and symptom burden among female veterans with serious illness: A cross-sectional study. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 41(6), 641-650. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091231187341
  • Varilek, B. M., & Isaacson, M. J. (2024). Coming to terms: Female Veterans’ experience of serious illness. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 26(2), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000001004  
  • Varilek, B. M., & Mollman, S. (2024). Healthcare professionals' perspectives of barriers to cancer care delivery for American Indian, rural, and frontier populations. PEC Innovation: Palliative, Hospice, and End-of-Life Special Issue, 4, 100247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100247
  • Varilek, B. M., Doyon, K., Vacek, S., & Isaacson, M. J. (2024). Palliative and end-of-life care interventions with minoritized populations in the US with serious illness: A scoping review. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 42(1), 112-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091241232978
  • Fitch, M., Mollman, S., & Varilek, B. M. (2024). Identifying the need for a nurse-driven palliative care intervention for rural and American Indian caregivers. Family, Systems, & Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000931
  • Varilek, B. M., Isaacson, M. J., & Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H. (2024). Evaluating disparities in end-stage kidney disease survival among American Indians/Alaska Native persons with diabetes. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 12, 3733-3743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-024-02173-z
  • Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H., Longacre, L., Isaacson, M. J., & Varilek, B. M. (2025). Hospice referral rate disparities of American Indian/Alaska Native kidney transplant recipients with end-stage kidney disease. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 43(2), 249-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091251315419
  • Isaacson, M. J., & Varilek, B. M. (2025). Creating a safe space: Engaging graduate nursing students in meaningful discourse about racism. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 37(2), 298-305. https://doi.org/10.1177/10436596251377879
  • Seydel, A., & Varilek, B. M. (2025). Factors influencing health behaviors for young adults with sickle cell disease: A scoping review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 48(2), 206-216.  https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459251389697
  • Isaacson, M. J., Herigon, K. D., Longacre, L. E., Pravecek, B., & Varilek, B. M. (2025). A diary of familiarity: A qualitative exploration of clinicians' experiences of familiarity and serious illness decision-making in a rural state. Advances in Nursing Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000610
  • Meyer, N., Donelan, M., Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H., Varilek, B. M., Ngorsuraches, S., Brooks, P., Schrier, J., & Michael, S. (2025). Estimating short-term and long-term survival for patients with kidney failure using a mixture survival model. Kidney Medicine, 8(3), 101232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xkme.2025.101232
  • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. (2025). HPNA Position Statement Medication Safety. B. M. Varilek, C. M. Godzik, B. Ferrell, & J. A. Paice (Eds.). Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. https://doi.org/https://www.advancingexpertcare.org/sdc_download/14792/?key=2nmljprsijmxhvde23k1w321g239pk
  • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing (2025). HPNA Position Statement Medical Cannabis. B. M. Varilek, S. Mack, D. Sommers, B. Ferrell, & J. A. Paice (Eds). https://doi.org/https://www.advancingexpertcare.org/sdc_download/14117/?key=a9c2y2bw02g9xozgbrky6ckx5olh23
  • Seydel, A. O., Isaacson, M. J., & Varilek, B. M. (2026). Navigating the shadows of stigma in sickle cell disease: A phenomenologic study. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing. Advance online publication.https://doi.org/10.1177/27527530261424176
  • Agyapong, P., Longacre, L., Brooks, P., Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H., Ngorsuraches, S., O’Connor, A., Michael, S., & Varilek, B. M. (2026). The association of social determinants of health on mortality among adults with end-stage kidney disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-026-02920-4
  • Mollman, S., Dowling, T., Woolridge, P., Hillmer, J., Odom, J. N., Bakitas, M., Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H., & Varilek, B. M. (2026). A descriptive study of cancer care experiences and burden among American Indian and rural South Dakotans. Palliative Care and Social Practice, 20, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524261438152
  • Smith, A., Donelan, M., Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H., Brooks, P, Varilek, B. M., Ngorsuraches, S., Schrier, J., Dell, A., & Michael, S. (2026). The prediction of all-cause mortality in end-stage kidney disease patients using social determinants of health: A machine learning framework. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2026.101779
  • Spors, A., Michael, S., Brooks, P., Varilek, B. M., Ngorsuraches, S., Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, H. (Accepted 7/8/2026; in press). Estimation of area deprivation index rankings in South Dakota using spatiotemporal change of support. Statistics and Public Policy.

 

  • 2014-Present    Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association, Member
  • 2022-2026    Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association Research Committee, Committee Member
  • 2016-Present    American Nurses Association / South Dakota Nurses Association, SDNA District 10 President
  • 2020-Present    National League of Nursing, Member
  • 2021-2023    Palliative Care Research Cooperative (Disbanded), Full Membership
  • 2023-Present    National Kidney Foundation, Member
  • 2023-Present    Rural Nurse Organization, Member
  • 2025-2028   National Kidney Foundation Nurse Continuing Education Review Panel
  • 2025-Present    CRISP (Center for Self-Management and Prevention) Research Core Chair
  • 2025-Present    Nursing Doctoral Student Organization Faculty Mentor (PhD)
  • 2025-Present    External Affairs Committee - At-Large Member, Research Focus
  • 2025-2027    HPNA State Ambassador of Nebraska
  • 2026 - Pennie Z. Davis Faculty Research Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing
  • 2026 - Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing (FPCN®)
  • 2025 - Emerging Leaders Award, Hospice & Palliative Nurses Foundation
  • 2024 - Volunteer of the Month (July), Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association 
  • 2024 - Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
  • 2024 - Sherwood and Elizabeth Berg Young Faculty Award, South Dakota State University
College of Nursing - Omaha Division University of Nebraska Medical Center
985330 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE  68198-5330