Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Paul Drain

Dr. Paul Drain’s drive for helping people and desire for impact brought him to Global Health & Medicine. He has always been interested in health and science. As a college student with a passion for health science, he trained as an Emergency Medical Technician and completed a degree in Microbiology from Miami University in Ohio. Pursuing a career in global health or continuing on to medical school had not occurred to him, but after completing his undergraduate degree, Dr. Drain joined the Peace Corps to have an opportunity to see the world beyond Ohio and gain hands-on experience. He served in a small town in Morocco and worked on a wide range of community health issues including access to contraception. He promptly integrated into his new environment and quickly formed a connection with people in his community. During his service, he traveled to rural communities to provide basic healthcare and worked on a special project to build latrines for girls at village schools. Serving in the Peace Corps is what gave Dr. Drain his initial exposure to global health and propelled him to return to school to prepare and train as a global health professional.

At the end of his two-year service, Dr. Drain knew he wanted to continue to make an impact in global health. He applied and was accepted to the University of Washington’s Masters of Public Health in International Health program. After completing his MPH degree, he joined the Immunization Program team at PATH, doing program management work for several years. It was during this time that Dr. Drain realized that he wanted to make a more direct impact by engaging in research and decided to apply for medical school. He completed his medical degree from UW Medical School and went on to a residency at Stanford University. Dr. Drain’s desire to care for people around the world continued to make a strong impact on his career trajectory. While in his residency, Dr. Drain took a year off to work in a hospital in Tanzania, taking an interest in HIV research and underserved populations. He continued to expand his skill set and medical training with Harvard University’s Infectious Disease Training Program.

Today, Dr. Drain is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Health, the School of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), and the Department of Epidemiology and a practicing Infectious Disease physician at Harborview Medical Center. His desire to serve underserved populations has come full circle and he serves as the Associate Director of the UW Tuberculosis Research and Training Center. His research group focuses on development and implementation of diagnostic testing and clinic-based screening, including novel point-of-care technologies, to improve clinical care and patient-centered outcomes for tuberculosis and HIV in resource-limited settings. Dr. Drain joined the START Center last fall as a faculty lead.