Jonathan Jacobs, MD, PhD

Dr. Jonathan Jacobs studies how intestinal microbes interact with intestinal cells and the immune system to promote diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, obesity and colon cancer. This involves a translational approach that combines detailed characterization of the microbiome of human subjects by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, metagenomics and metabolomics and modeling of the effect of disease-associated human microbial communities in mice colonized with human microbiota. The Jacobs Laboratory also operates the UCLA Microbiome Core to provide a comprehensive suite of microbiome-related services to members of the UCLA scientific community. Currently, the Jacobs Laboratory is studying the intestinal microbiome of colon cancer patients before and after curative resection/chemotherapy and is also investigating the use of microbial biomarkers for colon cancer screening.