Brandon Brei grew up in Orange, Connecticut with his parents James and Noel and younger sisters Michelle and Amanda. Brandon graduated from Amity High School in 1994.

His undergraduate work began as a chemistry-major at the U.S. Naval Academy. After less than a year, he decided that he enjoyed the academic aspects of his life more than the military ones. He left the Academy with the highest first-year GPA in his company and ranked number one for leadership potential by his platoon leader.

He then enrolled at the University of Massachusetts with a double major in biology and entomology. As a highly motivated undergraduate, he decided to pursue his own scientific research project under the guidance of Dr. John Edman. He initially developed a list of scientific questions that he wanted to investigate with Dr. Edman and was told jokingly that he generated a lifetime of doctoral dissertation projects. They finally decided on a project aimed at predicting the age of mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science summa cum laude, he became eager for a graduate experience of his own and was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Microbiology at Yale University in the Fall of 1999. He joined the Vector Ecology Laboratory of Dr. Durland Fish at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH). He saw this as a perfect choice because he was able to combine his interests in microbiology and ecology, as well as incorporate his fascination with ticks.

After his first semester at Yale, Brandon was granted a leave of absence for one year for a Fulbright fellowship in Brisbane, Australia. There, he was able to take classes in microbiology, parasitology and tropical medicine as well as research the biology of a biting midge species.

Brandon returned to Yale in 2001 and began work on a diversity of research projects. His overall research interest focused on the ecology of vector-borne spirochetes, including the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, and a recently discovered relapsing fever group Borrelia. The primary aim was to determine how these tick-borne Borrelia populations are maintained in nature. This research has provided valuable information about the ecology of pathogens and could lead to the development of more efficient strategies for the control of vector-borne disease.

In addition to research, Brandon maintained a close relationship with his family and friends that represent all facets of his life. He touched the lives of everyone who knew him. Brandon will be dearly missed and remembered forever.