Lucine Francis is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and a core faculty member of the Johns Hopkins Center for School Health, Johns Hopkins Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Cardiovascular & Chronic Care. Her 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 Nutrition in Education Settings) CoLab, which applies a nursing and equity lens to strengthen nutrition policies in educational settings, supporting whole-child wellness. Her research program informs policy, systems, and environmental solutions to support child food security and healthy nutrition using diverse research-informed strategies. Dr. Francis’ research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Healthy Eating Research, the CDC, 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, including Preventive Medicine, Prevention Science, and the Journal of School Nursing. She is a certified nurse educator who mentors students in Johns Hopkins’ undergraduate and graduate programs. Due to her impactful scholarship, leadership, and service, Dr. Francis is a graduate inductee of the Alpha Chapter of the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr. Francis earned an AB from Smith College and a BS and PhD from Johns Hopkins University. Most recently, Dr. Francis earned an MPH focusing on Food, Nutrition, and Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Outside of Johns Hopkins, Dr. Francis is a longtime Baltimore City resident and volunteers her time, co-leading alongside her husband, The Joshua Project, a Baltimore-based middle school discipleship ministry for boys that focuses on spiritual, socio-emotional, and physical wellness.
JHU Center Affiliation:
Center for Cardiovascular & Chronic Care
Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing
Center for School Health