Hillary J. Mull, PhD, MPP

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Hillary J. Mull, PhD, MPP, is a Research Investigator with the Center for Health Optimization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the VA Boston Healthcare System and an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. She works primarily on surgical quality measurement and patient safety and is certified in health informatics by the American Medical Informatics Association 10x10 program.

Dr. Mull's research interests include: adverse event detection, quality and outcomes in surgery, and antimicrobial prophylaxis for surgical site infections. She uses data mining techniques to detect adverse events in understudied areas, including outpatient surgery, interventional radiology, and GI endoscopy. Her publications reflect her expertise in adverse event surveillance, statistical modeling, provider interviews, qualitative research methods, and the use of consensus tools to synthesize provider opinion.

She led a VA Health Services Research (HSR) IIR (equivalent of an NIH R01) project developing adverse event surveillance tools for invasive non-surgical procedures and collaborates on multiple projects ranging from implementation of a surveillance system for cardiac device complications to developing natural language processing tools to identify PTSD treatment pathways in the VA. She currently co-leads a VA HSR&D IIR on sustainment of surgical site infection prevention practices and antimicrobial prophylaxis following the discontinuation of the Surgical Care Improvement Program.

Dr. Mull was awarded a VA VISN 1 Career Development Award (CDA) to examine outpatient surgery followed by a VA HSR CDA in 2014 to develop and validate an adverse event surveillance model for outpatient surgery. In 2020, this tool was adapted and implemented for adverse event surveillance in one VA ambulatory surgical center.

She earned her PhD in health services research from the Boston University School of Public Health, and her Masters in Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School at the University of Michigan.

Publications

  • Published 1/23/2026

    Basnet D, Mull HJ, Morgan DJ, Golenbock SW, Lamkin RP, Strymish JM, Harvey K, Yuen K, Schweizer ML, Drekonja D, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Branch-Elliman W. Leveraging a large language model to support expansion of surveillance activities to include cardiovascular implantable device infections in a large, integrated national healthcare system. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2026 Jan 23; 1-6. PMID: 41572724.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/17/2025

    Dorneo A, Shen YJ, Kabdiyeva A, Asfaw D, Garrido MM, Pizer SD, Rachlin J, Mull HJ. The Impact of Community Care on Spine Surgical Complexity and Outcomes in the Veterans Health Administration. Health Serv Res. 2026 Feb; 61(1):e70057. PMID: 41104777.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/2/2025

    Mull HJ, Golenbock SW, Basnet Thapa D, Shin MH, Harvey KL, Lamkin RP, Strymish J, Branch-Elliman W. Cardiac Implantable Device Infection Surveillance Algorithm. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jun 02; 8(6):e2514079. PMID: 40471582.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/16/2025

    Pendergast J, Mull H, Shin M, Engle R, Elwy AR, Strymish J, Golenbock S, Hederstedt K, Ostrow R, Goetz MB, Hawn M, Branch-Elliman W. Sustainability and spread of best practices for peri-operative antimicrobial stewardship following discontinuation of mandatory public reporting: perceptions from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology in America research network. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2025 May 16; 1-6. PMID: 40376808.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/25/2025

    Sullivan BA, Foster MV, Hwang A, Sturgeon DJ, Kit L, Hayward-Lundy SH, Lamkin RP, Redd A, Friedman HR, Mull HJ. Development of an electronic patient safety surveillance model to efficiently identify potential adverse events for gastrointestinal endoscopies. Gastrointest Endosc. 2026 Jan; 103(1):60-70.e22. PMID: 40288695.

    Read at: PubMed

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Websites

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, PhD
  • University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MPP
  • University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, BA

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