She graduated with a PhD in cancer biology from Vanderbilt University in 2007. In the laboratory of Richard Peek, Dr. Franco investigated the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer. After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Franco moved to New York City for a postdoctoral fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In the laboratory of James Fagin, she began her work in thyroid cancer, and the role of genetic mutations in tumo r initiation.