UTI Quiz

About Us

We Are A Strong Community Seeking A Better Solution

Our Founder

Melissa Kramer

Three years into her own journey with recurrent UTIs, Melissa began interviewing others with similar stories. Now UTI free, she works with her team to share crucial information in order to help others find better UTI testing and treatment.

The journey to recovery has led to an extensive network of researchers, clinicians and like-minded organizations, and Melissa is always happy to hear from anyone working to help solve the problem of recurrent UTI.

The Team That Makes This Possible

Susy Peddie

Communications Director

Susy co-founded Live UTI Free with the belief there’s never been a better time to bring health issues like this out into the open. She’s fascinated with the way technology is revolutionizing the female health space.

She uses her expertise in communications and outreach to help empower others to understand their own bodies, so they can lead a strong and healthy life.

Hannah Heffernan

Creative Director

Hannah’s love for an ambitious mission was more than enough to get her on board as a co-founder of Live UTI Free. Specializing in branding and digital design, she’s out to prove that serious health sites need not be fugly.

No stranger to an online symptom search (what modern female isn’t?), Hannah is adamant that good quality, well researched and holistic information should be available for all females.

Kate Ferris

Director, Ireland

Kate’s work at Live UTI Free is fueled by her fascination with, and active support of the evolution of female health issues, particularly in the country she calls home – Ireland.

With a long history in theatre production, Kate’s focus is always on the audience, and getting behind work that has the ability to change people’s lives. She believes empowering people with the right information is the best place to start.

Christine Kramer, BAppSc

Community Support

Christine’s background in applied science and medical diagnostics support provides an insightful basis for her work with the Live UTI Free community.

Her strong belief that the right information at the right time can help empower patients towards a resolution stems from her own interest in women’s health and chronic illness. Christine helps ensure Live UTI Free’s readers are connected to appropriate resources.

Madhu Gundlapally

Author, Doctor in Training

Madhu has always been a strong supporter for patient education and autonomy. She began writing for Live UTI Free to help promote accurate information and healthy discussion in doctor-patient interaction.

Currently training as a doctor of medicine, she hopes to encourage women to educate and advocate for themselves in doctor’s offices.

Deanna Berman ND

Author

Dr Deanna Berman’s journey into natural medicine and her passion for helping women began with her own health issues, including Interstitial Cystitis.

As a Naturopathic Doctor and Certified Midwife, she draws on her understanding of both the necessity for medication and the limitations of natural medicine, to write educational articles for Live UTI Free, particularly around UTI and pregnancy, and functional healing.

Emilie Berman, BSc

Author

Emilie stumbled across Live UTI Free while searching for support with her own UTIs. As a Biology major and pre-Med student, she became enamored with the presented of science backed information that allows patients to advocate for themselves.

Emilie is excited to be part of the solution by helping to raise awareness for UTIs and by giving others the tools to do the same.

Annett Borg

Patient Ambassador

You might recognise Annett as the face of Live UTI Free. Annett experienced recurrent UTIs for 15 years before finding a doctor who helped her pursue better testing and get appropriate treatment.

She’s our number one ambassador and a pioneer for sustainability and ethical production in her own industry – fashion. We’re happy to say she’s now UTI free and she’s helping us get better information out there.

Our Advisors

Krystal Thomas-White

PhD

Scientific Research Advisor

Krystal’s passion for women’s health grew from her clinical research on the female urinary microbiome at Loyola University Chicago. The powerful patient stories and promising science led her to dedicate her career to changing the way UTIs are diagnosed and treated.

Now at Stanford University, she investigates how uropathogens interact with the bladder to cause disease, and advises Live UTI Free on scientific rigor.

Lindsey Roberts

PhD

Research Director

Lindsey’s research mission is to evaluate medicines use and improve health-related outcomes and the delivery of quality healthcare. Lindsey believes positive health outcomes stem from adopting a multi-faceted approach to patient care and delivery.

As Medicines Optimisation Research & Development Lead for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Lindsey is committed to supporting Live UTI Free to gather the resources required to support people living with RUTI.

Janet Alexandersson

LLM Human & Health Rights

Legal Advisor
& Ethics Board Member

Janet loves working with teams who change the world, one issue at a time. Advising the team at Live UTI Free provides an opportunity for her to delve deeper into her specialties – health, sexual and reproductive rights.

By successfully navigating the legalities and ethics of health empowerment and outreach, Janet allows the rest of the team to focus on spreading their message effectively.

Why We Created This Website

7 million

females experience a UTI each year in the USA

26 - 44%

will have a UTI recurrence within 6 months

7 OUT OF 10

don’t believe their UTI treatment will work

Zero

accurate standard testing options available

Chronic, recurrent UTIs affect millions of females and may be caused by an underlying bladder infection that goes undiagnosed and ineffectively treated.

The right information can lead to better testing to identify the cause of the infection and ultimately to finding a permanent solution. That’s where we come in.

How You Can Get Involved

If you have experience with recurrent UTIs

If you’re a practitioner or researcher

Read more about our community guidelines here, and learn how we work with partners here.

Our Inclusive Policy

At Live UTI Free we strive for gender inclusive language and we aim to get this right wherever we can. Our site and the information on it are designed to be universally clear and friendly, with all users in mind. You can read more about our policy here.

Have You Taken Our Quiz?

We know the right information can be hard to find. Answering a few questions can help us send you straight to the information that is relevant to you. It also contributes to our ongoing research.

Take The UTI Quiz