dr. Jannette Pirzadian

Research

In the ANTI-UTI project, we study uropathogenic Escherichia coli, the primary pathogen causing human urinary tract infection (UTI). UTIs are one of the most common infectious diseases, but they remain increasingly difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance development and a high frequency of recurrent infection. Despite this, the causes of recurrent UTI are still unknown. We aim to identify bacterial-related factors that may be responsible for recurrent infection by comparing clinical E. coli isolates that caused recurrent UTI to those that did not, and to E. coli isolates involved in asymptomatic bacteriuria. We also aim to fill the gap in effective treatments by exploring novel anti-biofilm compounds, antimicrobial peptides, and host-directed therapies for efficacy against E. coli causing recurrent UTIs.

Curriculum Vitae

Jannette Pirzadian has more than 10 years of experience in infectious diseases research with special interests in antimicrobial resistance, infection prevention and control, and genomics. In 2011, she earned her BSc in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University of Central Florida (USA), and in 2016, her MSc in Biotechnology and Health from Leiden University. Her MSc included two internships, one at LUCID (Medical Microbiology) working on optimizing Clostridioides difficile culture medium, and one at Erasmus MC (Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) on CRISPR-Cas9 systems in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Jannette earned her PhD from Erasmus MC (Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) in 2023, where she researched the presence and transmission of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa high-risk clones that form difficult-to-clean, persistent reservoirs on hospital surfaces. She has contributed to multiple scientific publications, lectures, and a magazine article on this topic.

After working in food microbiology for the private sector and as a project manager for the LUMC, Jannette returned to LUCID to work as a postdoc in infectious diseases and host-pathogen interactions. In 2025, she earned her certification as a Medical Microbiological Researcher from the SMBWO.

Jannette is a member of ESCMID, NVMM, and the KNVM.