Denisse Leyton

Denisse Leyton is a Fellow at The Australian National University's Research School of Biology. Her research focuses on autotransporters, a family of virulence proteins produced by Gram-negative bacterial pathogens responsible for infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, whooping cough, cholera, chlamydia, and bacterial meningitis. These proteins contribute to infection by performing effector functions such as adhesion, invasion, and cytotoxicity towards eukaryotic host cells. Her work investigates the mechanisms of autotransporter assembly, function, and potential applications in biotechnology. Denisse teaches Microbiology to medical students and leads the Leyton Group, which explores the assembly, function, and reengineering of autotransporters for various applications.