Yvette Amba Kindlund

About Yvette Amba Kindlund

Yvette Amba Kindlund is a dental surgeon and PhD student at Örebro University, where she has been conducting research since June 2025. She studies how the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone influence the behaviour and virulence of two major oral pathogens: Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. These bacteria play a central role in the development of periodontitis, a chronic gum disease that affects millions of people worldwide.

Yvette’s project explores a rapidly growing question in microbiology: Can our own hormones change how dangerous bacteria become? Early evidence suggests that these pathogens are remarkably adaptable and may respond to hormonal cues in ways that enhance their ability to grow, form biofilms, and cause tissue damage.

To investigate this, she combines molecular microbiology, cellular infection models, and in vivo mouse studies to map how hormonal environments shape bacterial behaviour and disease severity. Her findings may have important clinical implications—especially for groups whose hormone levels shift naturally or through treatment, such as postmenopausal women or individuals undergoing hormone therapy.

By uncovering how hormones drive bacterial virulence, Yvette’s research may help inspire new strategies to prevent or reduce hormone‑related risk in periodontal disease, ultimately improving long‑term oral health.