As a health communication researcher, Dr. Francis conducts applied and theoretical research at the intersections of communication, race and health. More broadly, her work focuses on advancing knowledge of the role of communication in promoting healthy behaviors and advancing health equity for Black populations. Dr. Francis's program of research examines how mass media campaigns, strategic health messages, news coverage, and social media shape health behaviors. Her research activities have included designing and testing theory-based, culturally appropriate messages and communication strategies for preventing communicable and chronic diseases in minority and low-income populations.

In another line of work, Dr. Francis and her colleagues have used systematic reviews and meta-analyses to evaluate the impact of graphic warning labels for cigarettes on smoking outcomes. In recent studies, she has explored how exposure to health messages communicated through mass and social media, such as celebrity health announcements, motivates interpersonal communication and information seeking among young Black men and women. Dr. Francis is currently a fellow with the Obesity Health Disparities PRIDE Program funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.