Lucine Francis

PhD, MPH, RN, CNE

Dr. Lucine Francis’s research and practice focus on health promotion and innovation in child- and youth-serving organizations locally and globally. She partners with community and governmental organizations to advance health and learning equity by developing and implementing practical solutions to support child health and school success. Dr. Francis is the Director and PI of the SPiCE (Strengthening Policies for Child Health in Education Settings) Research CoLab, which applies a nursing and equity lens to strengthen health and nutrition policies in educational settings, supporting whole-child wellness. Currently, her research program informs policy, systems, and environmental solutions to support child food security and healthy nutrition using diverse research-informed strategies. Dr. Francis’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Healthy Eating Research, the CDC-supported Nutrition & Obesity Policy Research Evaluation Network, and institutional funding.

Dr. Francis serves as an associate editor for the CDC’s journal, Preventing Chronic Disease, and consistently reviews for high-impact public health and nursing journals. She is a certified nurse educator who mentors students in pre-licensure and doctoral programs. Due to her impactful scholarship, leadership, and service, Dr. Francis was inducted into the Alpha Chapter of the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Outside of Hopkins, Dr. Francis is a long-time Baltimore City resident and volunteers her time, co-leading The Joshua Discipleship Project, a Baltimore-based middle to high school ministry for boys focusing on spiritual, socio-emotional, and physical wellness.

Dr. Francis is open to mentoring and advising doctoral students interested in Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition Policy, School Health, Child & Adolescent Health, and Chronic Disease Prevention. Please send an inquiry to our admissions office at [email protected].

JHU Center Affiliation:
Center for Cardiovascular & Chronic Care
Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing
Center for School Health

Full CV

[email protected]

Specialties and Expertise

Podcasts

JOSN December 2023: An Update on State Legislation Supporting Menstrual Hygiene Products in US Schools: A Legislative Review, Policy Report, and Recommendations for School Nurse Leadership

Publications

Francis L., Kracht C., Chen W., Perrin N., Gans K., Taylor V., Lee R., Tovar A (2026) A Mixed-Methods Examination of Early Care and Education Providers’ Routine and Pandemic Use of Digital Technology for Nutrition Training: Insights for Digital Nutrition Training Policies and Practices, Digital Health, doi: 10.1177/20552076261431595

Francis L., Samuel L.J., Meraj S., Baptiste D., Konduru D., Mui Y., Perrin E.M. (2025) Moving Beyond the Scale: Guidance for Food Equity-Oriented Nurse Engagement in Education, Research, and Community Care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, doi: 10.1111/jan.70022

Peary A., Ibarra-Estrada E., Schroeder K., Samuel L., Peterson JK., Russell NG., Francis L. (2025) School Nurses and Food Insecurity: Guidance for Advocacy and Action in Schools. NASN School Nurse, doi: 10.1177/1942602X251338037

Francis L., Carlos MD., Andrade L. (2025) Learning from the Strengths of Health Care in Schools in Brazil and Opportunities for Global School Health. Global Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2025.2495322

Kracht C., Tovar A., Gans K., Lee R., Tandon P., von Ash T., Francis L. (2025) How to Integrate and Leverage Digital Technology Health Modalities for Health Promotion in Early Childhood Education: Opportunities to Improve Intervention Access and Engagement. Translational Behavioral Medicine, Jan 16;15(1): ibaf006. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibaf006.PMID: 40052536

Francis L., Peterson JK., Peary A., Estrada-Ibarra E., Russell NG., Schroeder K. (2025) Nurse-involved Policy, Systems, and Environmental School-Based Interventions Supporting Healthy Nutrition and Obesity Prevention among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Journal of School Nursing, 10.1177/10598405241288538

Francis L., Spaulding E., Bloom, I., Patel A., Perrin N. (in press) A Systematic Appraisal of the Functional, Information, and Engagement Quality and Aesthetics of Nutrition-Related Mobile Apps for Children and Adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, doi: 10.1017/S1368980023000526

Francis L., Perrin, N., Currerio F., Black MM., Allen J. (2022). Food Desert Status of Family Child Care Homes: Relationship to Young Children’s Food Quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6393; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116393

Francis, L., Patel, A., Hasan, A., Kylander, O., Williams, L., Levin, M.B, Sharps, P.W. (2022). Lessons Learned from Implementing SNAP-Ed in a School of Nursing/K-8 Partnership School amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Public Health Nursing, 39, 673– 676. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.13031

Francis L., Perrin, N., Black MM., Allen J. (2022). Mealtime Environment and Feeding Practices in Urban Family Child Care Homes in the US. Childhood Obesity, 18(2), 102-111, https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2021.0042

Francis L., DePriest, K., Sharps, P., Wilson, P., Ling, C., Bowie, J., & Thorpe, R. J. (2021). A mixed-methods systematic review identifying, describing, and examining the effects of school-based care coordination programs in the US on all reported outcomes. Preventive Medicine, 153, [106850]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106850

2025 Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society, Alpha Chapter, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

2025 Isabel Hampton Robb Faculty Fellowship Award, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

2024 Journal of School Nursing (JOSN)/SAGE Scholarly Writing Award

2023 International Visiting Research Scholar, Escola de Enfermgem de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil

2023 Outstanding Faculty Research Paper Award, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

2022 Healthy Eating Research (HER) Early Stage Investigator ESI-WG (Invited)

2020 Prevention Science Early Career Mentored Editorial Board Member

2020 SOURCE Service-Learning Faculty Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

2019 Jonas Policy Scholar, American Academy of Nursing

2018 Fellow, Nurse Leadership Institute, University of Maryland School of Nursing

2018 Sue K. Donaldson Dissertation Award for an Outstanding PhD Dissertation at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

2018 Rising Star of Research and Scholarship-Sigma Theta Tau International Leadership Connection Conference (nominated by the Dean of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing)

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