Deborah A. Frank, MD Professor in Child Health and Well-Being, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Biography Deborah A. Frank serves as BUSM professor of Pediatrics; director, Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center (BMC); and founder and principal investigator of Children’s HealthWatch, a network of pediatric and public health researchers working to improve child health. A highly respected national authority, she has testified before both the United States and Massachusetts legislatures on the growing national problem of hunger and its effects on children. Frank also leads research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse on the effects of intrauterine exposure to cocaine and other substances on children’s long term development. She advocates at hearings and in the media against criminalizing addicted mothers or stigmatizing their children. Frank has served on numerous committees and advisory boards including the Mayor’s Hunger Commission, the Massachusetts Child Hunger Initiative and the Physicians Task Force on Childhood Hunger in Massachusetts. She has received awards in recognition for her work including the 2004 Standing Ovation Award, Massachusetts Human Services Coalition; 2007 Woman of Valor Award, Jewish Funds for Justice; 2008 Woman of Justice Award, Boston Lawyer’s Weekly, and more recently in 2010 Dr. Frank received the Massachusetts Health Council Outstanding Leadership Award and the Physician Advocacy Merit Award from the Institute on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University. Frank is the author of more than 50 papers and articles. Publications Published 3/11/2025 Ettinger de Cuba S, Jones DK, Cutts D, Bovell-Ammon A, Lê-Scherban F, Sandel M, Ochoa E, Poblacion A, Frank DA, Black MM, Fix GM. "But who takes care of the mom?": The daily experiences of immigrant mothers navigating health in family life. Soc Sci Med. 2025 May; 372:117948. PMID: 40090206. Read at: PubMed Published 1/10/2025 Lê-Scherban F, Coleman SM, Fusfeld Z, Frank DA, Poblacion A, Black MM, Ochoa E, Sandel M, Ettinger de Cuba S. Maternal adverse childhood experiences and lifetime experiences of racial discrimination: Associations with current household hardships and intergenerational health. Soc Sci Med. 2025 Feb; 366:117695. PMID: 39837079. Read at: PubMed Published 12/5/2024 Poblacion A, Ettinger de Cuba S, Black MM, Weijer I, Giudice C, Esteves G, Fabian P, Zanobetti A, Cutts DB, Lê-Scherban F, Sandel M, Ochoa ER, Frank DA. Food Insecurity and Weight Faltering: US Multisite Analysis of Young Children's Weight Trajectory. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2024 Dec 05. PMID: 39644920. Read at: PubMed Published 10/1/2023 Poblacion A, Ettinger de Cuba S, Frank DA, Esteves G, Rateau LJ, Heeren TC, Coleman S, Black MM, Cutts DB, Lê-Scherban F, Ochoa ER, Sandel M, Sheward R, Cook J. Development and Validation of an Abbreviated Child and Adult Food Security Scale for Use in Clinical and Research Settings in the United States. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023 Oct; 123(10S):S89-S102.e4. PMID: 37730309. Read at: PubMed Published 7/10/2023 Ettinger de Cuba S, Miller DP, Raifman J, Cutts DB, Bovell-Ammon A, Frank DA, Jones DK. Reduced health care utilization among young children of immigrants after Donald Trump's election and proposed public charge rule. Health Aff Sch. 2023 Aug; 1(2):qxad023. PMID: 38756243. Read at: PubMed View All 196 Publications: View Full Profile in BUMC Other Positions Assistant Professor, Community Health SciencesBoston University School of Public Health Websites BU Profile Boston Medical Center Provider Profile Public Relations - BU Experts Children's HealthWatch Google Scholar ResearchGate Education Harvard Medical School, MD Radcliffe College, BA View all profiles