Dr. Lia Jacobson is a pediatric ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, or otolaryngologist. She cares for children with airway disorders, aerodigestive disorders (breathing and feeding problems as a result of issues involving the upper digestive and respiratory tracts), chronic ear disease and other ENT conditions, including those that require surgical treatment. She currently Co-Directs UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco’s Multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Center and the Trach-Vent Clinic.

Dr. Jacobson is committed to improving surgical education and surgical equity globally. She is Co-Director for the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia’s Fellowship, a multidisciplinary program that supports emerging, international leaders in perioperative health equity. She works directly with ENT training programs in East Africa and Southeast Asia, focusing on the development of fellowship-level pediatric otolaryngology training, residency education through long-term, bidirectional academic partnerships, and capacity-building in pediatric airway safety. She was awarded UCSF's Institute for Global Health Science Early Global Health Scientist Award in 2025.

Dr. Jacobson completed an undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley and has a master's degree in global medicine from the University of Southern California (USC). She earned her medical degree at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She completed a residency in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at Keck Medicine of USC, followed by a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at UCSF. She is double board-certified in Otolaryngology and Pediatric Otolaryngology.