Metabolism & ketones
My work showed that ketosis and β-hydroxybutyrate slow cyst growth in models of PKD — the science behind the ketogenic approach and KetoCitra.
See the papers →Biomedical researcher · UC Santa Barbara
The root causes of kidney disease — and how to address them.
I'm Dr. Jacob Torres — biomedical researcher in the Weimbs Lab at UC Santa Barbara and co-inventor of KetoCitra, the first medical food for polycystic kidney disease. I study how metabolism and dietary intervention change the course of PKD — and, increasingly, the role of the gut.
14
Peer-reviewed papers
1st
Medical food for PKD (KetoCitra)
15+
Years in PKD research
Three levers
Where I focus
The gut
Active research · papers forthcoming
My newest direction — experiments now underway in the lab examine how gut-barrier disruption and the gut–immune axis drive PKD, and how dietary interventions can protect it.
Early results presented at ASN 2025 →Diet & movement
From fasting and time-restricted feeding to the Ren-Nu dietary program — translating the evidence into sustainable, kidney-safe practice.
Explore the Ren-Nu program →Explore the science interactively → The clean ketogenic plate → Plan a week of meals →
Peer-reviewed
Selected publications
Clinical trial
KETO-ADPKD: a randomized controlled trial of ketogenic dietary intervention in PKD
The first randomized controlled trial of a ketogenic dietary intervention in autosomal-dominant PKD — establishing feasibility, safety, and effects in patients.
Metabolism
Ketosis ameliorates renal cyst growth in PKD
First evidence that a ketogenic state slows cyst growth in animal models of polycystic kidney disease.
Metabolism
β-hydroxybutyrate recapitulates ketogenic therapy in PKD
Shows the ketone body BHB alone reproduces the benefits of ketogenic metabolic therapy across rodent models of PKD.
Discovery
Crystal deposition triggers tubule dilation that accelerates cystogenesis in PKD
My doctoral discovery that microcrystal injury accelerates cyst growth — the mechanism that set the direction for everything since.
About
From bench to bedside.
I earned my PhD in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology at UC Santa Barbara, where I discovered that microcrystal injury accelerates cyst growth — and 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's work focuses on the gut–immune connection to disease progression.
Work together
Let's get to the root of it.
Health coaching, fitness, and training for anyone working to improve their metabolic health — grounded in years of research. For diet guidance specific to PKD, I'll point you to the Ren-Nu program.