Brandi, as he was known to his friends, was a member of our medical staff for 37 years. After graduating from Reali High School in 1946, he joined the Palmach and was wounded in the War of Independence in the battle to liberate Safed. In 1951, he began his medical studies in Grenoble, France. A year later, he entered the medical school in Jerusalem, graduating in 1957. Since then, he was connected to Rambam, beginning as an intern and going on to specialization. In 1966, he went to Berkley for post-graduate studies, returning to Rambam in 1968 as a senior physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, of which he became Director in 1976. In 1981, he was asked by the Director-General of the Ministry of Health to take on the Directorship of Rambam.

During the first Lebanon War, Rambam received hundreds of wounded and was recognized as the hospital of the Northern Command and as the Trauma Center of the north. For five year, Prof. Brandes oversaw the daily activities at Rambam and started it on its path to excellence. He understood the importance of the new digital technology and began the process of acquiring advanced equipment. Prof. Brandes established the Fund for Medical Research which quickly became an important financial arm of the hospital and enabled continuation of the development of the facility.