Mari-Lynn Drainoni, PhD

Mari-Lynn Drainoni, M.Ed., Ph.D., is Research Professor in the Section of Infectious Diseases in the School of Medicine in the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and in the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. She is also Co-Director of the Evans Center for Implementation and Improvement Sciences at Boston University. Dr. Drainoni's areas of expertise include the conduct of implementation research, qualitative research methods and mixed method studies with a focus on integrating research into practice. Her specific studies have focused on the content areas of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, as well as substance use, antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic stewardship, and integrating screening for social determinants of health into clinical practice. Dr. Drainoni has conducted numerous implementation studies to integrate research into practice, studies evaluating demonstration programs for at-risk populations, and mixed methods studies that include both surveys involving primary data collection and qualitative data collection and analysis. Some of her current research projects include: 1) an AHRQ-funded study evaluating alternative implementation strategies for antibiotic stewardship in two large inpatient hospital systems across the US; 2) a HRSA-funded study to implement and evaluate the use of community health workers to improve retention and outcomes in clinical care for persons living with HIV in 10 sites across the US; 3) a NIDA-funded study to examine police-led models of engaging people in treatment for opioid addiction in Massachusetts; 4) serving as the Implementation Science Core Director of the Healing Communities Study, a NIDA/SAMHSA-funded study in four states to implement and evaluate interventions designed to reduce overdose deaths; 5) an NHLBI-funded project to assess the implementation of a social determinants of health screening and referral intervention for children with sickle cell anemia; 6) a study of the uptake of rapid diagnostic tests for infectious disease and behavioral factors influencing use of rapid diagnostic tests; 7) an NICHD-funded study to test and implement an intervention designed to screen for social determinants of health and unmet material needs in pediatric practices across the US; 8) a VA-funded initiative to implement and evaluate a peer intervention for veterans leaving incarceration; 9) an American Cancer Society-funded study evaluating an intervention designed to improve offering the HPV vaccine in community health centers; and 10) leading the implementation science component of a PCORI-funded study to compare two brief interventions within the primary care medical home to assess the most effective strategy to improve outcomes among pregnant and postpartum women with depressive symptoms, assess the optimal time to deploy each strategy and examine the barriers to establishing these interventions. Dr. Drainoni also is the Implementation Science Lead on the Providence-Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Implementation Science Lead on the Lifespan/Brown Criminal Justice Research Program on Substance Use and HIV, and Principal Investigator on the Boston University School of Public Health NIDA-funded T32, Integrated Care for Addiction, HIV and HCV Research and Education (ICAHRE).