Dr. Jacobson's research interests include epidemiologic methods in cohort studies, and in data analysis/coordinating centers. Specifically, Dr. Jacobson's research has encompassed HIV, effects of therapy on HIV, and infectious causes of cancer, particularly the human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) and Kaposi's sarcoma, and the effects of HIV, therapy and age. More recently, she is examining solution-oriented research on child health, specifically in the areas of pre-, peri- and postnatal outcomes, neurodevelopment, obesity, airways and positive health. Dr. Jacobson is one of the multi-PI for the Environmental influences of Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Data Analysis Center. In this role, she provides epidemiologic expertise in the conduct of the study, with particular attention to the standardization of study protocol, analyses and dissemination of findings.
In various collaborations across the institution, Dr. Jacobson provides guidance on efficient study design for collecting valid and reliable data. Taking advantage of her expertise in epidemiologic methods, Dr. Jacobson instructs doctoral students in the application of these methods in the formation and review of research proposals.