Edward V. Braun
A greater appreciation for life
LTFU staff member helps protect patient privacy
On a typical workday, Edward V. Braun handles hundreds of patient files at the offices of the LTFU Program.
In his job as clinical assistant, he takes care of 4,000 patient files-archiving data, managing a digital database, and most importantly, keeping the files readily available for research.
It's a humbling experience.
"These records, they're people, from 9-month-old babies to 90-year-old grandparents. What you see in these files is what makes our research so important," said Braun, a native Texan. "If you don't walk out of this office with greater appreciation for life, for your health, for the battle against cancer, you're missing the point."
The 33-year-old Braun has been living in Seattle for about seven years and working at LTFU for about two. After so many years in soggy Seattle, his Texas accent is gone, but no one is going to take his Tex-Mex roots away from him. In fact, he has been dabbling a little more in his Mexican roots.
He loves to cook Tex-Mex, but finds himself more drawn to authentic south-of-the-border Mexican food lately. Just listening to him describe Mexican dishes is enough to make his listeners salivate. And don't get him started talking about Oaxacan cuisine, one of his favorites.
While it's easy to get him to talk about his life and his passion for food, you won't get him to open up about the files under his trust. Securing patient information and keeping it completely confidential is a job that he takes seriously.
And he fully understands why collecting patient information is so important. "If you look back at my father's generation, you could see so many cancers on the rise … prostate cancer, breast cancer."
"This is what makes this research so important and it makes the information in these files so critical," he said. Braun spent time both in the U.S. Army and Navy, but considers himself a Navy guy. His wife is Navy, too. They met in Jacksonville, Fla., during their tours of duty.
They have a 9-year-old son, Thomas, who loves to snowboard with his dad. Wife Lesley is finishing her nursing degree at Shoreline Community College.
Serving others, Braun said, is just part of the fiber of his family.
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