Francis was born and raised in the Bay Area, California. He gained a valuable experience as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Professor Richmond Sarpong at the University of California at Berkeley. After completing his Ph.D. in the lab of Professor Richard Auchus first at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, TX and then at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, he pursued postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Professor Frederick Guengerich.

In 2016, Francis started his independent research career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio.