The UC Riverside School of Medicine has named Elizabeth A. Jacobs, MD, MAPP, FACP, as the new chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. She will begin her position on August 1, 2024.

Jacobs brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role. As a distinguished primary care physician leader and health equity investigator, she spent more than 25 years advancing healthcare and academic excellence. Her leadership has been instrumental in fostering clinical and educational partnerships, establishing primary care clinics, and developing innovative medical school curricula.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jacobs to the UC Riverside School of Medicine family. With her extensive experience in healthcare leadership and commitment to fostering inclusive environments, she will enhance our efforts to advance clinical care, medical education, and community engagement," Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, said. "I look forward to working together to serve our communities and inspire the next generation of healthcare leaders."

"As a native of Southern California, I am excited to join the UC Riverside School of Medicine team and to help achieve the mission of increasing access to education and health care within the Inland Southern California communities,” Jacobs said. "I first became aware of disparities in health and opportunity as a young girl growing up in Simi Valley and have dedicated most of my career to advancing health equity so to come home to California to work at UCR School of Medicine is a full circle moment for me."

Jacobs’ research focus has been investigating disparities in health care, specifically in minoritized or marginalized communities. She is recognized as an expert on developing accessible and culturally competent care for diverse populations, and her research has been supported through funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Prior to joining UC Riverside, Jacobs was vice president for research at MaineHealth and the director of the MaineHealth Institute for Research. Prior to joining MaineHealth, she was the inaugural chief of primary care and value-based care, professor of medicine and population health science, and associate chair for research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School. She also served as associate vice chair for health services research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, and as professor in the Departments of Medicine and Population Health Sciences.

Jacobs received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University and attended medical school at the University of California San Francisco. She trained as a general internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship and a master's degree in public policy at the University of Chicago.