Jeroen Langereis Msc, PhD

Jeroen D. Langereis is an Assistant Professor at Radboudumc. His main goal in science is to understand how usually harmless colonizing bacteria of the upper respiratory tract are able to cause inflammatory diseases that include otitis media, pneumonia, and sepsis. Both host factors such as the complement system and bacterial virulence mechanisms have my interest. He has used bacterial genome-wide mutagenesis screens to identify the genetic architecture needed for non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae to survive in the presence of an active complement system, survive in the presence of phagocytizing neutrophils, and the ability to form biofilms.

Currently, Jeroen Langereis studies bacterial growth on polarized primary epithelial cells to identify bacterial systems that are required for survival in the lungs. This knowledge is incorporated into the design of novel vaccines presenting non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae infections. In collaboration with the Radboud University, he tested small molecule inhibitors that affect bacterial growth of virulence. His ultimate goal is to understand bacterial pathogenesis and contribute to the development of a vaccine or small molecule inhibitor that prevents or treats infections by non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae.