The major focus of Dr. Christiano's research is the study of inherited skin and hair disorders in humans, through a classical genetic approach including identification and phenotyping of disease families, genetic linkage, gene discovery and mutation analysis, and most recently, functional studies relating these findings to basic questions in epidermal biology.  Molecular aspects of the cutaneous basement membrane zone, adhesion junctions including hemidesmosomes and desmosomes, and epidermal appendages such as hair and teeth are major basic science interests in her laboratory.  A long-range goal of the research is to develop rationally designed genetic therapies for skin and hair diseases through understanding the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.