Dr. Quinn is a Core Investigator at the Center for Healthcare Evaluation, Research, and Promotion (CHERP) at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System . She received her PhD in Family Science from the University of Maryland School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in women’s health at VA Pittsburgh. Her research broadly explores individual-, family-, and community-level influences on sexual and reproductive health. Her early graduate work aimed to better inform interventions to reduce unwanted teen pregnancy by exploring the role of social support in teen mothers' maintenance of contraception over time and identifying relational factors that influence teen mothers' postpartum contraceptive choices. Her dissertation examined how emerging adults' religiosity, attitudes about sex, and sexual risk and protective behaviors are associated with early-life family modeling of religiosity and family communication about sex.
Since joining the VA, Dr. Quinn has focused her research lens on advancing the quality and equity of reproductive healthcare for women Veterans, with the goals of (1) identifying modifiable factors that contribute to disparities in care and outcomes and (2) designing policies, programs, and prevention strategies that promote quality and equity in sexual and reproductive health and healthcare and support reproductive autonomy across the life course.
Currently, Dr. Quinn is studying links between prepregnancy health and social risks and adverse maternal outcomes among Veterans using VA maternity benefits. She is also interested in developing patient-centered interventions to improve prepregnancy health among Veterans at high risk of adverse maternal outcomes. Dr. Quinn also co-leads the national implementation of Contraception on Demand, a VA Promising Practice that expands pharmacist provision of contraception and extended supply contraceptive dispensing across the VA.
- BA, English: Writing & Rhetoric, Georgetown University, 2003
- MLitt, Creative Writing, University of St. Andrews, 2004
- MSc, Gender & Social Policy, London School of Economics & Political Science, 2005
- PhD, Family Science, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 2017
- Advanced Fellowship, Women's Health, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, 2021
Education & Training
Quinn DA, Sileanu F, Zhao X, Mor MK, Judge-Golden C, Callegari L, & Borrero S. History of unintended pregnancy and patterns of contraceptive use among racial and ethnic minority women Veterans. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2020, 223(4).
Ashcraft LE, Quinn DA, & Brownson RC. Strategies for effective dissemination of research to United States policymakers: A systematic review. Implementation Science, 2020, 15(89).
Quinn DA, Sileanu FE, Borrero S, Callegari LS. Reproductive health services: A missed opportunity in VA primary care? Contraception, 2023,120.
Quinn DA, Sileanu FS, Mor MK, Callegari LS, Borrero S. Describing adverse pregnancy events and pregnancy-associated death among Veterans. Journal of Women’s Health, 2025, 34(2): 166-175.
- Winner/Diffusion of Excellence Fellow, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Shark Tank Competition, 2022
- Plenary Award Winner, University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine Research Day, 2022
- Winner, National Diffusion of "Contraception on Demand," Diffusion Summit, VHA Diffusion of Excellence, 2023
- Military Families and Children Focus Group Outstanding Professional Proposal Award, National Council on Family Relations Annual Meeting, 2023
- Editorial Board Member, Family Relations, 2025
