Dr. Jacobs' research interests include epidemiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and mechanisms of resistance of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, the microbiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of otitis media pathogens, clinical study design, application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles to respiratory tract and other infections, bacterial contamination of platelet and stem cell products, mycobacterial infections and evaluation of new diagnostic products. In collaboration with his Transfusion Medicine colleagues, he has authored several seminal papers on the epidemiology and clinical consequences of bacterial contamination of platelets. He has published over 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals and as well as several book chapters.