National Kidney Foundation Honors Jean Francis, MD

Headshot of Jean FrancisJean Francis, MD, associate professor of medicine, was awarded an Excellence in Transplant and Nephrology award by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). The award honors members of their community who have been outstanding in the promotion of kidney health and the fight against kidney disease. This accolade was presented during NKF’s Evening of Giving held annually in celebration of World Kidney Day.

Francis serves as medical director of kidney transplantation at Boston Medical Center (BMC) as well as the combined Pancreas Transplant Program between BMC and Brigham and Women’s Hospital—a program that facilitates the cure of type 1 & 2 diabetes with pancreas transplantation in very selected patients.

A nationally recognized clinician-educator, Francis conducts clinical research in kidney transplantation and has a special interest in thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), a rare but very serious condition. Francis is the founder of the first TMA Team at BMC, a unique multi-disciplinary approach to the management of this condition. Many institutions and medical centers in the U.S. and around the world have adopted this model to care for patients with TMA.

An accomplished educator who has won several excellence in teaching awards, Francis has trained many nephrologists and serves as a co-director of BU’s Thrombosis and Microangiopathy Collaborative and is co-director of the Affinity Research Collaborative on Thrombosis and Homeostasis. He also serves as the region one United Network for Organ Sharing representative for pancreas transplantation.

Francis obtained his medical degree from the Lebanese University School of Medicine. He completed his medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Yale University- Saint Raphael Campus. He completed a kidney and pancreas transplantation fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. A frequent invited speaker, Francis has published more than 60 scientific manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. He has also trained many nephrologists.

The NKF is the largest, most comprehensive and longstanding organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease.