William R. Jacobs Jr.

Bill Jacobs
Dr. Jacobs in the lab- Esquire, "Best and Brightest" 2007
Born	(1955-03-13) March 13, 1955 (age 69) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Alma mater	Edinboro University of Pennsylvania University of Alabama at Birmingham
Known for	Developing genetics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Scientific career
Fields	Microbiology
Institutions	Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Doctoral advisor	Roy Curtiss III

William R. Jacobs Jr., is a professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Professor of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, New York, where he is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Jacobs is a specialist in the molecular genetics of Mycobacteria.[1] His research efforts are aimed at discovering genes associated with virulence and pathogenicity in M. tuberculosis and developing attenuated strains for use as vaccines. He is a Founding Scientist at the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV.[2]

Early career

In 1985, Jacobs joined Barry Bloom's lab at Albert Einstein College of Medicine as a post-doctoral fellow[3] to work on the resurgent problem of tuberculosis. In 1987, the two co-authored a ground-breaking[4] paper published in Nature describing a novel system for the genetic manipulation of mycobacteria, "Introduction of Foreign DNA into Mycobacteria Using a Shuttle Phasmid".[5] By demonstrating the utility of shuttle phasmids as DNA transporters between E. coli plasmids and mycobacteriophages, this paved the way for recombinant DNA research for mycobacteria.[6]

Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator (1990-present)

Jacobs has been profiled several times in many media publications including The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, and Discovery.[7]

References

1. Hatfull, Graham F., and William R. Jacobs. Molecular Genetics of Mycobacteria. Washington, D.C.: ASM, 2000. Print.
2. "Founding Scientists." K-RITH. HHMI/UKZN, 2012. Web. <http://www.k-rith.org/founding-scientists>
3. "Barry R. Bloom." Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. Harvard University, n.d. Web. <https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/barry-bloom/>.
4. Vijaya, S. "The Genetics Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis." Journal of Genetics 77.2-3 (1998): 123-28. Print.
5. Jacobs, William R., Margareta Tuckman, and Barry R. Bloom. "Introduction of Foreign DNA into Mycobacteria Using a Shuttle Phasmid." Nature 327.6122 (1987): 532-35
6. Caldwell, Mark. "Health & Medicine / Infectious Diseases." Resurrection of a Killer. Discover Magazine, n.d. Web. <http://discovermagazine.com/1992/dec/resurrectionofak164>.
7. see: Mechanism Explained for Drug Resistance in Some TB Strains