About

Dr. Jacob Torres

Biomedical researcher · UC Santa Barbara

I'm passionate about health and fitness, and I've been fortunate to have my research align with that passion. After using diet to overcome my own health issues, I became fascinated by the body's capacity to heal itself when given the opportunity — and that question has driven my research ever since.

I've spent more than fifteen years studying ketogenic metabolic therapies for chronic kidney disease — ketogenic diets, fasting, and ketone supplementation. At UC Santa Barbara I discovered that microcrystal injury accelerates cyst growth, then went on to validate ketosis as a treatment for polycystic kidney disease.

That research became real-world therapy. I co-founded Santa Barbara Nutrients to develop KetoCitra — the first medical food for PKD — and helped design the Ren-Nu dietary program now taught to dietitians worldwide. Today the lab focuses on the gut–immune connection to disease progression.