Profiles

Karen R. Jacobson, MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 414-5213
karen.jacobson@bmc.org
Talbot
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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.

Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Medicine - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University

Education

  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD Field of Study: Medicine
  • Harvard School of Public Health, MPH Field of Study: Clinical Evaluation/Research
  • Yale University, BS Field of Study: Biology

Websites

Publications

  • Published on 2/11/2026

    Campbell 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.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/30/2026

    Tabackman 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.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/29/2026

    Mann 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.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/15/2025

    Carney T, Mpisane N, Magidson JF, Drainoni ML, Niemand N, Weber S, Meade CS, Jacobson KR, Myers B. "They Call Us Amaphara (Junkies)": Intersectional Tuberculosis, Alcohol, and Drug Stigma in South Africa. Stigma Health. 2025 Dec 15. PMID: 41693957.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/27/2025

    Malatesta S, Jacobson KR, Horsburgh CR, Farhat M, Carney T, Gile KJ, Kolaczyk ED, White LF. An Integrated Data-Driven Model for Clinical Phenotyping of Tuberculosis Disease Severity. medRxiv. 2025 Nov 27. PMID: 41358303.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/24/2025

    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. 2025 Oct 24. PMID: 41133922.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/8/2025

    Malatesta 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. 2025 Oct 08. PMID: 41060285.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/17/2025

    Cohodes M, Fernandez A, Ashkin D, Reed C, Park S, Banaei N, Fung M, Jacobson K, Goswami ND. Curated cases from the TB expert network: Unplugged! Series: Use of plasma microbial cell-free DNA metagenomic sequencing to diagnose Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J Clin Tuberc Other Mycobact Dis. 2025 Dec; 41:100563. PMID: 41049022.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/29/2025

    Niemand N, Rooney JA, Malatesta S, Rawoot N, Bouton TC, Ragan EJ, Carney T, White LF, Farhat M, Horsburgh CR, Myers B, Warren RM, Jacobson KR. Contamination rates in serially sampled sputum specimens obtained during tuberculosis treatment to capture culture conversion. Microbiol Spectr. 2025 Oct 07; 13(10):e0096925. PMID: 40879468.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/29/2025

    Martins MF, Teran Plasencia JM, Jacobson KR, Bouton TC, Traber KE, Canning M, Bourque DL, Sabharwal V, Michaud R, Sinha P, Acuña-Villaorduña CJ. Rifampin versus isoniazid completion rates for TB infection. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2025 Aug 29; 29(9):425-427. PMID: 40883884.

     Read At: PubMed

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