Vanessa Jacoby, MD, MAS

Dr. Vanessa Jacoby is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research, and Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Her primary research focus is improving care for women with uterine fibroids, noncancerous pelvic tumors that affect up to 70% of women by age 50. She has led multiple clinical trials of new fibroid treatments including MR Guided Focused Ultrasound, laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation, and oral aromatase inhibitors. Her research has informed national practice guidelines for management of uterine fibroids. Dr. Jacoby's work has also focused on long-term health outcomes following hysterectomy and oophorectomy, particularly for women who are carriers of BRCA pathogenic variants who undergo risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy.

With the onset of COVID-19, Dr. Jacoby worked with a multi-disciplinary group of collaborators to launch the PRIORITY study, a nationwide cohort of 1,300 pregnant women and their newborns with COVID-19. Analyses from PRIORITY were the first to identify the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms after acute infection in 25% of pregnant women, before Long COVID was a known sequela. This work led to further study of Long COVID following infection during pregnancy in the RECOVER study (recovercovid.org).

As Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research, Dr. Jacoby collaborates with Office of Research leadership to provide support and strategic direction for clinical and translational research at UCSF and oversight of all scientific, administrative, and operational activities at CTSI. Under her leadership, CTSI has strengthened research partnerships with regional health systems to advance translational science, augmented Learning Health System activities to improve healthcare delivery, advanced bioinformatics including novel uses of AI, increased community-engagement including launch of a CTSI Community Advisory Board, and expanded training programs to develop the next generation of clinical and translational researchers. As AVC-CR, Dr. Jacoby partners closely with leadership in the Office of Sponsored Research, IRB, UCSF Health, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and other administrative and operational units to accelerate translational research capacity and impact to improve health for all populations.