Frances Jensen

Dr. Jensen is Professor of Neurology and Chair of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.  She was formerly Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Director of Translational Neuroscience, and senior neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  She is a graduate of Cornell Medical College and did her neurology residency training at the Harvard Longwood Neurology Residency Program.  Her research focuses on mechanisms of epilepsy and stroke, with specific emphasis on injury in the developing brain as well as age specific therapies for clinical trials development.  She received a 2007 Director’s Pioneer Award from the NIH to explore the interaction between epileptogenesis and cognitive dysfunction.  Dr. Jensen also is the recipient of the 2008 American Epilepsy Society Basic Science Research Award.  Dr. Jensen was President of the American Epilepsy Society in 2012 and has served on a number of other leadership boards including the Council for the Society for Neuroscience, the nominating committee at the American Neurological Association, and is on Council at NICHD.  She serves on the scientific advisory panel at NIH for the BRAIN Initiative and on a number of charitable foundations for medical research.  In addition, Dr. Jensen was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015.  She has authored over 130 manuscripts on subjects related to her research, has been continuously funded by NIH since 1987, and has trained numerous clinical and basic research fellows who now hold independent faculty positions nationally and internationally. She is also an advocate for awareness of the adolescent brain development, its unique strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as their impact on medical, social, and educational issues unique to teenagers and young adults.   She is a Trustee of the Franklin Institute and author of the book “The Teenage Brain”, released by Harper Collins in 2015.