Karen R. Jacobson MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases
Associate Professor, Epidemiology
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-5213karen.jacobson@bmc.org
kjacobso@bu.edu
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
Wijk M, Denti P, Gausi K, Myers B, Carney T, White LF, Theron D, Parry CDH, Horsburgh CR, Rawoot N, Warren RM, Court R, Kulkarni SG, Farhat MR, Buys C, Malatesta S, Weber SE, Kulkarni S, McIlleron H, Jacobson KR, Kloprogge F. Insights into the Role of Rifampicin Exposure and Clinical Baseline Covariates on the Response to Pulmonary Tuberculosis Treatment. Clin Infect Dis. 2026 May 20; 82(5):e1014-e1022. PMID: 41133922.
Published on 5/15/2026Campbell JI, Vachharajani O, Dubois MM, Martinez L, Christos PJ, Herlihy JM, Jenkins HE, Horsburgh CR, Jacobson KR, Powis KM. Tuberculosis in children who are HIV-exposed uninfected: A systematic review and metaanalysis. AIDS. 2026 May 15. PMID: 42138367.
Published on 5/14/2026Brown TS, Nelson K, Kissler S, Martinez L, Horsburgh CR, White LF, Mathema B, Jacobson KR. Understanding and exploiting superspreading to disrupt Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission. Lancet Infect Dis. 2026 May 14. PMID: 42134384.
Published on 4/29/2026Malatesta S, Carney T, Niemand Wolhuter N, Overbeck V, Theron D, Weber SE, Meade CS, Thomson S, Bouton TC, Farhat M, Myers B, Wood R, Ratangee F, Horsburgh CR, White LF, Warren RM, Jacobson KR. Tuberculosis Disease Prevalence Among People Who Smoke Illicit Drugs: A Respondent- Driven Sampling Study in the Western Cape, South Africa. J Infect Dis. 2026 Apr 29; 233(4):763-772. PMID: 41060285.
Published on 4/24/2026Kulkarni SG, Green AG, Mann BC, Malatesta S, Kulkarni-Goodwin S, Cesare N, Mulaudzi S, Rawoot N, Warren RM, Jacobson KR, Farhat MR. Convolutional neural networks quantify antibiotic resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with diagnostic grade accuracy and predict treatment response. Nat Commun. 2026 Apr 24. PMID: 42031767.
Published on 3/23/2026Esmail H, Thienemann F, Sossen B, Mukasa SL, Lakay F, Munro JE, Macpherson L, Warwick JM, Goliath RT, Omar-Davies N, Douglass E, Jackson A, Streicher EM, Heinsohn T, Sheerin D, Barrios MH, Aziz S, Serole KC, Daroowala R, Taliep A, Ahlers P, Malherbe ST, Bowden R, Warren RM, Walzl G, Via LE, Bahlo M, Kik SV, Ruhwald M, Jacobson KR, Horsburgh CR, Salgame P, Alland D, Barry CE, Flynn JL, Ellner JJ, Coussens AK, Wilkinson RJ. PET-CT benchmarked detection and 5-year progression of asymptomatic tuberculosis: a longitudinal, prospective cohort study. Lancet Respir Med. 2026 Mar 23. PMID: 41887246.
Published on 2/11/2026Thomson S, Overbeck V, Theron D, Botha B, Malatesta S, Bouton TC, Niemand Wolhuter N, Ratangee F, Campbell JI, Cesare N, Kulkarni Goodwin S, Meade CS, Horsburgh CR, White LF, Myers B, Warren RM, Carney T, Jacobson KR. Linkage to TB and HIV care for persons who smoke illicit drugs: a prospective cohort study. IJTLD Open. 2026 Feb; 3(2):91-96. PMID: 41847680.
Published on 2/11/2026Campbell JI, Brooks MB, Dankovchik J, Giebultowicz S, Falkenstein A, Angier H, Horsburgh CR, Tschampl CA, Haberer JE, Bressler J, Epstein RL, Jenkins HE, Jacobson K. Uncovering household tuberculosis infection testing and care patterns using a novel bioinformatics linkage strategy. Clin Infect Dis. 2026 Feb 11. PMID: 41668263.
Published on 1/30/2026Tabackman A, Acuña-Villaorduña C, Canning M, Karoly M, Dauphinais MR, Michaud R, Bouton TC, Bourque DL, Reifler KA, Sabharwal V, Traber K, Gupte AN, Jacobson KR, Sinha P. Low TB1 and TB2 antigen-nil is associated with increased QuantiFERON Gold Plus reversions. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2026 Jan 30; 30(2):88-89. PMID: 41618115.
Published on 1/29/2026Mann BC, Loubser J, Omar S, Glanz C, Ektefaie Y, Jacobson KR, Warren RM, Farhat MR. Systematic review and meta-analysis of protocols and sequencing yield for whole genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly from sputum samples. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2026 Mar; 157:102743. PMID: 41633150.
Media Mentions
Published on 12/13/2022
Best of The Brink 2022: BU’s Most-Read Science and Research Stories
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Is Five Days of COVID Isolation Enough? New BU Study Has Some Answers
Published on 12/9/2021
BU Scientists Are Prepared to Detect Omicron—and Other Variants
Published on 12/9/2021
Scientists race to define Omicron threat, worried about ‘surge upon a surge’
Published on 12/7/2021
Experts: Current tests detect Omicron variant, but transmissibility a concern
Published on 10/7/2021
Projected Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outcomes Associated With Hepatitis C Virus
View full list of 15 media mentions.