Dr. Philip Bretsky is a board-certified internal medicine physician practicing primary care in Santa Monica, California — and, less typically for a practicing primary care physician, a trained epidemiologist whose research career put him at the genome sequencing frontier at the exact moment it was being drawn. That combination isn't incidental to how he practices today. It's the direct throughline connecting a research fellowship at the dawn of the genomic era to a current role helping bring genome-scale risk assessment into everyday primary care.
A front-row seat to the genome's completion
Between 2001 and 2003, as a visiting predoctoral fellow at the MIT/Broad Institute's Center for Genome Research, Dr. Bretsky worked on characterizing genetic variation drawn from USC's Multiethnic Cohort — a large, NIH-funded longitudinal study — precisely during the years the Human Genome Project itself was being finished. His published research spans dense haplotype mapping of estrogen receptor genes, candidate-gene association studies for breast cancer and hypertension risk, and the transition from early genomic research into the polygenic risk scoring tools that now define clinical genomics. That research career is what makes genome-scale risk assessment a genuine clinical strength at Santa Monica Primary Care, rather than an add-on service.
An uncommon combination in primary care
How many primary care physicians combine an active, current outpatient and hospital practice with a PhD in epidemiology, a research career spanning cancer genetics, cognitive aging genetics, and cardiovascular epidemiology, and an ongoing advisory role at the frontier of clinical genomics? This is an uncommon set of qualifications to find in a single primary care physician — and it's the foundation for how genetic and population-level risk assessment is woven throughout care at Santa Monica Primary Care, rather than treated as a separate, disconnected add-on service.
FACP — Fellow, American College of PhysiciansMD — USC Keck School of MedicinePhD — Epidemiology, USCResidency — Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterMPH — Yale University
"Dr. Bretsky was a trained research physician as well as a general practitioner — he reaches into medical science journals and uses that knowledge in my care. He is the best physician I have ever had."
GR
Google Review
Santa Monica Primary Care
★★★★★
"Dr. Bretsky is always friendly, knowledgeable and thorough. I never feel rushed or like I'm not heard. He takes time answering any and all questions."
ZD
Zocdoc Patient
Verified review
★★★★★
"He called me personally to go over my lab results and then again later just to see how I was doing. He is a throwback to what doctors should be. I recommend him without reservation."
VT
Vitals Patient
Verified review
Recognition
Awards & Publications
10×
Southern California Super Doctor
39
Peer-reviewed publications
1,487+
Google Scholar citations
4.9
Patient rating · 137 reviews
2005
Irving Lasker Award — Best Medical Student Research
USC Keck School of Medicine
2006
Solomon Award — Outstanding Resident Research
UCLA Affiliated Residency Training Programs
2002
Scholar-in-Training Award
American Association of Cancer Research / Genentech
