Dr. Porterfield has lived all over the world, from Latin America to parts of Asia. Her areas of clinical and research interest include health disparities, population health, clinical vaccinology, diabetes, international/immigrant health, women's health, and graduate medical education. Dr. Porterfield chose family medicine because she enjoys the challenge of caring for people across the full spectrum of life-stages and because she believes in the importance of caring—not just for individual patients—but also whole families and communities.

Dr. Porterfield is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, an investigator for the Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, and the Vice Chair of Clinical Operations in Family Medicine.

Dr. Porterfield joined the Department of Family Medicine in 2014 after completing her residency with the UTMB Health Family Medicine Residency Program with a concentration in behavioral medicine. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Wheaton College, a Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health from University of North Texas Health Science Center.