Dr. Frank has conducted and published numerous studies for governmental agencies and private enterprise on the transportation, environmental, and health impacts of development decisions and transportation investments. He is currently overseeing two major programs, the SMARTRAQ program in Atlanta and the LUTAQH program in Seattle that link urban planning, the environment, and public health. The SMARTRAQ program tests the relationships between obesity, physical activity, travel choice, urban form, and air quality. The LUTAQH program assesses urban form linkages with air quality, climate change (with Center for Clean Air Policy), and public health.

Additionally, Dr. Frank is co- investigator of the National Institutes of Health Neighborhood Quality of Life Study (NQLS) with Dr. James Sallis (PI) and Dr. Brian Saelens to test the effects of the built environment on physical activity in 32 communities in Seattle and Baltimore. He recently co-authored two books, Public Health and Community Design, The Impacts of The Built Environment on Physical Activity and Urban Sprawl and Public Health.