Karen R. Jacobson MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases

Associate Professor, Epidemiology

801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-5213
Karen Jacobson
Sections

Infectious Diseases

Centers

Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research

Biography

Dr. Karen Jacobson is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Infectious Diseases, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Jacobson’s research focuses on the epidemiology of tuberculosis, including identification of biological and social determinants of and risk factors for tuberculosis infection and disease (including drug resistant tuberculosis) and approaches for improving tuberculosis outcomes in resource-limited settings. Dr. Jacobson is the Medical Director of the Boston Medical Center Tuberculosis Clinic and has established a highly productive collaboration with researchers in Cape Town, South Africa. Her work has particular emphasis in understanding how substance use impacts on tuberculosis transmission and response to therapy.

Education

Medicine, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Clinical Evaluation/Research, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health

Biology, BS, Yale University

Publications

Published on 12/4/2024

Mann BC, Loubser J, Omar S, Glanz C, Ektefaie Y, Jacobson KR, Warren RM, Farhat MR. Systematic review and meta-analysis of protocols and yield of direct from sputum sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 04. PMID: 39677639.

Published on 11/1/2024

Shapiro AN, Scott L, Moultrie H, Jacobson KR, Bor J, Conradie F, da Silva P, Mlisana K, Jenkins HE, Stevens WS. Risk factors for and timing of presumptive recurrent TB. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2024 Nov 01; 28(11):527-533. PMID: 39468024.

Published on 10/31/2024

Murnane PM, Afshar M, Chamie G, Cook RL, Ferguson T, Haque LY, Jacobson KR, Justice AC, Kim TW, Khalili M, Krupitsky E, McGinnis KA, Molina P, Muyindike WR, Myers B, Richards VL, So-Armah K, Stewart S, Sulkowski MS, Tien PC, Hahn JA. Using Phosphatidylethanol as an Adjunct to Self-Reported Alcohol Use Improves Identification of Liver Fibrosis Risk. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024 Oct 31. PMID: 39480054.

Published on 10/14/2024

Overbeck V, Malatesta S, Carney T, Myers B, Parry CDH, Horsburgh CR, Theron D, White LF, Warren RM, Jacobson KR, Bouton TC. Understanding the impact of pandemics on long-term medication adherence: directly observed therapy in a tuberculosis treatment cohort pre- and post-COVID-19 lockdowns. BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Oct 14; 24(1):1154. PMID: 39396938.

Published on 8/28/2024

Campbell JI, Lavache D, Garing A, Sabharwal V, Haberer JE, Dubois M, Jenkins HE, Brooks MB, Joseph NT, Kissler K, Horsburgh CR, Jacobson KR. Evaluation of the Tuberculosis Infection Care Cascade Among Pregnant Individuals in a Low-Tuberculosis-Burden Setting. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Sep; 11(9):ofae494. PMID: 39238842.

Published on 8/20/2024

Ghanem M, Srivastava R, Ektefaie Y, Hoppes D, Rosenfeld G, Yaniv Z, Grinev A, Xu AY, Yang E, Velásquez GE, Harrison L, Rosenthal A, Savic RM, Jacobson KR, Farhat MR. Percent of lung involved in disease on chest X-ray predicts unfavorable treatment outcome in pulmonary tuberculosis. medRxiv. 2024 Aug 20. PMID: 39228708.

Published on 8/14/2024

Kulkarni S, Weber SE, Buys C, Lambrechts T, Myers B, Drainoni ML, Jacobson KR, Theron D, Carney T. Patient and provider perceptions of the relationship between alcohol use and TB and readiness for treatment: a qualitative study in South Africa. BMC Public Health. 2024 Aug 14; 24(1):2216. PMID: 39143513.

Published on 8/1/2024

Wijk M, Gausi K, Malatesta S, Weber SE, Court R, Myers B, Carney T, Parry CDH, Horsburgh CR, White LF, Wiesner L, Warren RM, Uren C, McIlleron H, Kloprogge F, Denti P, Jacobson KR. The impact of alcohol and illicit substance use on the pharmacokinetics of first-line TB drugs. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2024 Aug 01; 79(8):2022-2030. PMID: 38985541.

Published on 7/1/2024

Savinkina A, Muyindike W, Hahn JA, Emenyonu NI, Fatch R, Ngabirano C, Adong J, Jacobson KR, Linas BP. Strategies for isoniazid preventive therapy in HIV-positive patients who consume alcohol. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2024 Jul 01; 28(7):335-342. PMID: 38961548.

Published on 6/14/2024

Farhat MR, Jacobson KR. For Tuberculosis, Not "To Screen or Not to Screen?" but "Who?" and "How?". Clin Infect Dis. 2024 Jun 14; 78(6):1677-1679. PMID: 38636953.

View full list of 84 publications.