Frances Vélez-Bartolomei is a Medical Biochemical Geneticist, assistant professor and the Interim Director of the Medical Genetics Division at the University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus. She also serves as geneticist at clinics in four different towns in Puerto Rico, providing care to underserved populations.

Dr. Vélez-Bartolomei is a graduate from Stanford University where she completed her fellowship in Medical Genetics and in Medical Biochemical Genetics in 2021, after completing a Pediatrics Residency at the San Juan City Hospital in Puerto Rico.

In the four years Dr. Vélez-Bartolomei has provided care in Puerto Rico, she has provided genetic therapies to patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. She also provides enzyme replacement therapies to patients with Acid Sphyngomyelinase deficiency and Hunter syndrome. She also provides inpatient consulting services, genetic testing and treatment when available.

Her main focus is providing accessible genetic services and treatments in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She has encountered numerous shortcomings of the medical health system and obstacles in the process and is working on creating a smoother process in her practice so that every patient can access the available treatment in Puerto Rico without the need to leave the island to get care.