Mari-Lynn Drainoni, PhD, MEd

Research Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

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 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 in safety net settings. 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. Dr. Drainoni serves as the Director of CIIS. She is also a 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. 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. Dr. Drainoni also is the Implementation Science Lead on the Providence-Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and Implementation Science Lead on the Lifespan/Brown Criminal Justice Research Program on Substance Use and HIV and an AHRQ/PCORI funded learning health systems center. Dr. Drainoni's passion is for mentoring junior faculty towards independence in implementation research.

Publications

  • Published 3/30/2026

    Cordova-Ramos EG, Colvin BN, Witt RE, Estevez M, Peña MM, Austad K, Colson ER, Drainoni ML, Parker MG. Factors Influencing Mothers' Own Milk Provision Among Spanish-Speaking Latina Mothers of Preterm Infants. J Hum Lact. 2026 Mar 30; 8903344261427994. PMID: 41906929.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/25/2026

    Burrowes SAB, Drainoni ML, Barlam TF. Are there racial/ethnic differences in antibiotic treatment of community acquired pneumonia in the inpatient setting? PLoS One. 2026; 21(3):e0345788. PMID: 41880361.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/10/2026

    Carrion MN, Kienle RM, Bourque D, Drainoni ML, Hochberg NS, Dauphinais M, Mello T, Stigler Granados PE, Hamer DH. Barriers to Chagas Disease Screening among Primary Care Providers in the United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2026 May 06; 114(5):857-864. PMID: 41806373.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/22/2026

    Cramer AL, Bartkus M, Nelson AL, Rudel R, Steiner J, Green P, Barnard A, Henry S, Betances M, Pierre CM, Drainoni ML, Barlam TF. Implementation strategies for sustainability of mupirocin decolonization across adult ICUs in an urban safety net hospital. Am J Infect Control. 2026 Jan 22. PMID: 41580089.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/29/2025

    Austad K, Fantasia KL, Mohanty A, Jones KC, Bosch NA, Drainoni ML. Failing to succeed: advancing mechanistic understanding of implementation strategies through retrospective and prospective use of causal pathway diagrams. Implement Sci Commun. 2025 Dec 29; 7(1):35. PMID: 41462368.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Research Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management
    Boston University School of Public Health
  • Co-Director, Evans Center for Implementation & Improvement Sciences
    Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Education

  • Northeastern University, PhD
  • University of Massachusetts Boston, MEd
  • Tufts University, BA