She obtained her PhD from Indiana University in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology where she identified transcriptional mediators required for differentiation of myeloid cells. Dr. Jacobsen completed a postdoctoral fellowship in breast cancer at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she examined steroid receptor mediated gene expression. In 2003 Dr. Jacobsen joined the faculty in the Department of Medicine of the University of Colorado where she investigated the role of steroid receptors on chemotherapy response in breast cancer. Dr. Jacobsen joined the Department of Pathology in 2013 where she continues her work on steroid receptors and breast cancer. Dr. Jacobsen has served as a reviewer for multiple peer reviewed journals and on grant review panels for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.