Robert M. Jasmer, M.D.
Assistant Professor

University of California San Francisco
San Francisco General Hospital
Box 0841, Bldg NH 5K1
San Francisco, California 94143
phone: (415) 206-3514
fax: (415) 695-1551
email: robert.jasmer@ucsf.edu

Dr. Jasmer received his B.A. from Harvard in 1986 and M.D. from Washington University in 1990. After internship, residency, and chief residency at Stanford, he became a pulmonary and critical care fellow at UCSF, then joined the faculty in 1997. He is also the co-director of the medical intensive care unit at San Francisco General Hospital and medical director of the San Francisco Tuberculosis Clinic. His major academic activities include clinical research in tuberculosis and pulmonary complications of HIV infection, and medical education.

Research Interests

Dr. Jasmer’s research focus has been in the field of molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis, integrating molecular techniques to track specific strains of the pathogen with conventional epidemiologic approaches to understanding the distribution of tuberculosis in populations. His initial studies used these methods to assess the contributions of reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection versus recent infection followed by rapid progression to active tuberculosis in persons in San Francisco. A natural extension of these studies was devising new tuberculosis control strategies directed at preventing tuberculosis among infected individuals at increased risk as identified by the molecular epidemiologic analysis.

Dr. Jasmer’s primary research activity has been leading a multicenter, prospective, randomized study comparing the toxicity, completion rates, and efficacy of two different therapies for treating latent tuberculosis infection in patients at risk for reactivation tuberculosis in San Francisco. The two therapies are isoniazid taken for six months and rifampin and pyrazinamide taken for two months. By including significant numbers of persons not previously recommended for preventive therapy and assessing their outcomes, this study will provide some of the first operational data on the use of rifampin and pyrazinamide for the prevention of tuberculosis. Another related study is assessing the toxicities and completion rates among homeless persons in San Francisco treated with rifampin and pyrazinamide for latent tuberculosis infection. Together, these studies should help define the role of this new treatment for latent tuberculosis infection.

Additional research activities includes studies assessing the utility of chest computed tomography scans in the diagnosis of pulmonary disease in HIV-infected patients. These studies comprise an analysis of clinical and radiographic features associated with specific diagnoses in HIV-infected patients at San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Jasmer is also a frequent lecturer in courses at the Francis J. Curry National Tuberculosis Center in San Francisco and has made a CD-ROM produced by the Center entitled "Diagnosis and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis in the 21st Century: An Audio Recording for Clinicians." His CD is likely to eclipse both Madonna and Britney Spears on its way to becoming the top-grossing CD of the year.

Recent Publications

Jasmer RM, Luce JM, Matthay MA. Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation for acute respiratory failure: Underutilized or overrated? Chest 1997;111:1672-78.

Jasmer RM, Ponce de Leon A, Hopewell PC, Alarcon RG, Moss AR, Paz EA, Schecter GF, Chin, DP, Small PM. Tuberculosis in Mexican-Born persons in San Francisco: Reactivation, acquired infection, and transmission. Internat J Tuberc Lung Dis 1997;1(6): 536-41.

Agasino CB, Ponce de Leon A, Jasmer RM, Small PM. Epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis which does not contain IS6110 in San Francisco. Internat J Tuberc Lung Dis 1998;2(6):518-520.

Jasmer RM, Hahn JA, Small PM, Daley CL, Moss AR, Schecter GF, Paz EA, Hopewell PC. A molecular epidemiologic analysis of tuberculosis trends in San Francisco, 1991-1996. Ann Intern Med 1999;130: 971-978.

Kallet RH, Jasmer RM, Lin L, Marks JD, Luce JM. The use of tris-hydroxymethyl aminomethane (THAM) for the treatment of acidosis in patients with acute lung injury. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000;161: 1149-1153.

Jasmer RM, Edinburgh KJ, Thompson A, Gotway MB, Creasman JM, Webb WR, and Huang L. Clinical and radiographic predictors of the etiology of pulmonary nodules in HIV-infected patients. Chest 2000;117: 1023-1030.

Jasmer RM, Snyder DC, Chin DP, Hopewell PC, Cuthbert SS, Paz EA, Daley CL. Twelve months of isoniazid compared with four months of isoniazid and rifampin for persons with radiographic evidence of previous tuberculosis: An outcome and cost-effectiveness analysis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000;162: 1648-1652.