Ms. Franco is the Senior Analyst at the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC. Her policy research focuses on public health preparedness, hospital and medical preparedness, bioterrorism, and emerging infectious diseases. She also conducts research on the funding and management of civilian biodefense in the U.S. federal government and tracks developments in health information technology as it relates to biosecurity and biodefense. Ms. Franco is currently pursuing an MPH degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ms. Franco is an Associate Editor of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, and is the Managing Editor of the Biosecurity Briefing, a daily biodefense news update. Ms. Franco has authored a number of articles, including a peer reviewed research paper analyzing the federal, state, and local medical response to Hurricane Katrina, and has contributed articles as part of a series dedicated to tracking and analyzing federal funding for biodefense programs. Prior to joining the Center, from 2002 to 2004, Ms. Franco worked on implementing an electronic medical records system for a private practice doctor’s office in Colorado, where she helped lead an office-wide effort to establish and maintain a system of electronic medical records for more than 4,000 patients. Ms. Franco also worked from 1999 to 2001 as an electron and optical microscopist for the Johns Manville Corporation, where she was responsible for counting and analyzing fiberglass samples for research and development. Ms. Franco received a BA in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in 2004 from the University of Colorado at Boulder. | 
