Jenna is a principal research scientist who uses qualitative, implementation science, survey, econometric, and community-based participatory research methods. Her scholarship focuses on Medicaid/Medicare financing and delivery, state health policy, behavioral health access and integration, care delivery transformation in primary care and safety-net systems, and community health and well-being.

Her portfolio for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) includes mixed-methods evaluations of state payment and delivery models, such as the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model, the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, and Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program. Her work with agencies, foundations, and local organizations examines the effectiveness of evidence-based models for care delivery, access, and coordination across community-based settings. She also has a portfolio of work focused on professional well-being and factors associated with access to care.

She was formerly at Abt Associates, adjunct faculty at Northeastern University and associate director of the Brandeis University Council on Health Care Economics and Policy. She engages with community members, policymakers, and implementation partners throughout the design, research, and dissemination process. She brings international development experience and is co-author of Breaking the Poverty Cycle: The Human Basis for Sustainable Development as a Rotary Fellow in Mexico City.

Sirkin's research spans a variety of topics related to healthcare access, behavioral health, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including examining primary care’s challenges and responses during the pandemic (2023); generating and reporting electronic clinical quality measures from electronic health records (2022); and assessing behavioral health needs and access in Massachusetts during the first year of COVID-19 (2022). Other notable work includes studying mental health clinician acceptance of new clients in Massachusetts (2020), exploring consumer and stakeholder perspectives on access to outpatient mental health services (2017), and quantifying wait times for outpatient mental health services in Massachusetts (2017). Sirkin has also researched the basics of behavioral health care access in Massachusetts (2017), the financing of behavioral health services at federally qualified health centers (2012), and evaluated the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (2020). Additionally, Sirkin has contributed to research on substance abuse treatment, including managing care for patients with substance abuse disorders at community health centers (2014), and the on-site provision of substance abuse treatment services (2012). Her work also covers community health reform, such as achieving excellence in community health centers and implications for health reform (2012). Sirkin has investigated increasing the engagement of Latinos in mental health services through community-derived programs (2012) and evaluated an HIV/AIDS prevention program for Mexican elementary-school students (2007). She also co-authored a scale for measuring personal agency and empowerment (2007).

Additionally, she has published two books: The Incentive Cure: The Real Relief for Health Care (2013), and Breaking the Poverty Cycle: The Human Basis for Sustainable Development (2010).