Brande is a molecular plant pathologist and geneticist. He uses high throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatics to identify genes restricting stem rust and Septoria tritici blotch, two major diseases of wheat. His long-term aim is to use cloned genes from wild ancestors of wheat to engineer durable resistance to these diseases in cultivated wheat. Brande recently took up a faculty position in the Centre for Desert Agriculture at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. Prior to this he worked for ten years in the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK.