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]
Bill Jacobs | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Jacobs in the lab- Esquire, "Best and Brightest" 2007 | |
| Born | March 13, 1955 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 |
Early career
editIn 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)
editJacobs has been profiled several times in many media publications including The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, and Discovery.[7]
References
edit- ^ Hatfull, Graham F., and William R. Jacobs. Molecular Genetics of Mycobacteria. Washington, D.C.: ASM, 2000. Print.
- ^ "Founding Scientists." K-RITH. HHMI/UKZN, 2012. Web. <http://www.k-rith.org/founding-scientists>
- ^ "Barry R. Bloom." Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. Harvard University, n.d. Web. <https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/barry-bloom/>.
- ^ Vijaya, S. "The Genetics Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis." Journal of Genetics 77.2-3 (1998): 123-28. Print.
- ^ 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
- ^ Caldwell, Mark. "Health & Medicine / Infectious Diseases." Resurrection of a Killer. Discover Magazine, n.d. Web. <http://discovermagazine.com/1992/dec/resurrectionofak164>.
- ^ see: Mechanism Explained for Drug Resistance in Some TB Strains