Jenny K. Rodriguez Francis

Jenny K. Rodriguez Francis, M.D., M.P.H., is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 2017, working at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. She serves as the director of the adolescent medicine fellowship program and is an NIH-funded researcher focusing on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, particularly improving provider-parent-adolescent communication around contraception. Dr. Francis is board-certified in Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrics.

Education: She holds a BA from the University of Dallas, an M.D. from UTMB Galveston, and an M.P.H. from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed pediatrics training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at Mount Sinai’s Adolescent Health Center. Previously, she was an assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center.

Research Interests: Her work centers on adolescent sexual and reproductive health services, including contraceptive access, family communication dynamics, and ethical considerations in clinical trials. She investigates barriers to effective healthcare communication and evaluates interventions to improve health outcomes for adolescents.

Publications: Her research spans topics such as contraceptive choice, adolescent mental health, and clinical trial participation. Key themes include understanding disparities in healthcare access, optimizing provider-patient-parent collaboration, and addressing challenges in adolescent reproductive health studies.

Grants & Awards: NIH-funded research underscores her contributions to advancing adolescent health research. No specific honors or awards are listed, though her NIH support highlights her scholarly impact.

Labs/Teams: Dr. Francis leads the adolescent medicine fellowship program, fostering the next generation of specialists in adolescent health through training and mentorship.