Dr. Kim Jacobson

Biography

Professor Kim Jacobson is an NHMRC Investigator Fellow studying the formation of immunity. Human health longevity is dependent on the ability of the immune system to clear a multitude of foreign pathogens encountered throughout life. His research focuses on the ability of the immune system to clear pathogens and the production of memory B cells and antibodies, demonstrated in recent work published in "Immunity" (2024) and "Nature Immunology" (2022). Professor Jacobson investigates chromatin and transcriptional modifications underlying the diversification and selection of B cell fates in forming immunity. He completed his PhD at the Centenary Institute, Garvan Institutes in 2007. He was awarded the Arthritis Australia AFA-ARA Heald Fellowship and later the CJ Martin Fellowship from NHMRC to undertake postdoctoral training at Yale University, revealing the novel role of the inhibitory receptor PD-1 in humoral responses. Upon returning to Australia in 2010, he made key insights into how histone modifications regulate B cell memory, which are essential for the establishment of long-lived humoral immunity, health, and chronic disease. He has served as Treasurer for the Australian New Zealand Society of Immunology and is a recipient of funding from ARC, MRFF, Cancer Institute NSW, and Leukaemia Foundation Australia. His laboratory specializes in the fields of B cell memory and epigenomics.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards