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. Recently, she started serving the population in the Virgin Islands, traveling to St. Thomas and St. Croix to provide genetic evaluation and testing where previously no genetic service was available.

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 three years Dr. Vélez-Bartolomei has provided care in Puerto Rico, she has provided genetic therapies to multiple patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and enzyme replacement therapies to patients with Acid Sphyngomyelinase deficiency. Recently, she is part of the team that is going to be providing genetic therapy for patients with Duchenne in Puerto Rico. 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 Virgin Islands. 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. Dr. Vélez Bartolomei also focuses on educating the Puerto Rican physicians and community about genetic disorders and the importance of genetic testing in the island.