Birgit Leitinger joined Imperial College London in 2005 as a Lecturer and is currently Reader in Matrix Receptor Signalling.

She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Basel, Switzerland. In 1996 she joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London as a postdoctoral fellow, working with Dr Nancy Hogg in cell adhesion. In 2001 she moved to UCL, Department of Medicine, where she started her independent research as a Senior Research Fellow.

Her group's principal research interests are in cell adhesion, the interactions of cells with the extracellular matrix, and the mechanism of activation of cellular receptors. Work in her lab has been funded by the BBSRC and MRC.

She has major teaching roles in the BSc Medical Biosciences as Module Lead for one of the core modules in Year 1 and Head of Assessment and Feedback for the entire programme.