USTI is excited to announce Angela Christiano, Ph D. has joined USTI as a Scientific advisor for our educational programs.

Angela Christiano  is considered the World Top Hair Loss Researcher, this was further acknowledged recently when National Institute for Health awarded her and her team a $5 million ($1 million a year for 5 years)  to study hair loss and found the ALOPECIA AREATA CENTER FOR RESEARCH TRANSLATION (AACORT)

Sep 1 2016 – Aug 31 2021. This is her 25 grant, 9 are active in 2017. She also co-chaired the 9th World Congress for Hair Research, and has been involved in the discover and understand of many of the genes and immune cells related to hair loss.

She has been published in scientific journals many times including multiple times in Nature, Science, Cell Science and Cell journals.

Christiano and her teams “ long-range goal of our research is to develop genetic and cell-based therapies for skin and hair diseases through understanding disease pathogenesis”

Academic Appointments

• Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology
• Professor of Genetics & Development

The major focus of our research is the study of inherited skin and hair disorders in humans and mice, through a classical genetic approach including identification and phenotyping of disease families, genetic linkage, gene discovery and mutation analysis, and functional studies relating these findings to basic questions in epidermal biology. Our interests include transcriptional regulation of hair cycling and differentiation, the biology of cadherin-mediated cell adhesion junctions known as desmosomes, and the morphogenesis epidermal appendages such as hair and teeth. A long-range goal of our research is to develop genetic and cell-based therapies for skin and hair diseases through understanding disease pathogenesis. We are using epithelial reprogramming as a therapeutic approach for inherited skin diseases.

Grants

ALOPECIA AREATA CENTER FOR RESEARCH TRANSLATION (AACORT) (Federal Gov)

Sep 1 2016 – Aug 31 2021

PRECLINICAL EVALUATION OF VORINOSTAT IN ALOPECIA AREATA (Federal Gov)

Jul 18 2017 – Jun 30 2019

CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF PSYCHIATRIC, NEUROLOGIC AND BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (Federal Gov)

May 3 2013 – May 31 2018

ENHANCING THE VACCINAL EFFECT OF ANTITUMOR ANTIBODIES (Federal Gov)

Jul 1 2012 – Apr 30 2018

DEVELOPING AN ALOPECIA AREATA DISEASE ACTIVITY INDEX (ALADIN) (Federal Gov)

Sep 1 2014 – Aug 31 2017

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF MIRNAS DURING CRANIOFACIAL DERMAL MORPHOGENESIS(Federal Gov)

Jul 1 2013 – Jun 30 2017

ENGINEERING SKIN GRAFTS FOR DYSTOPHIC EPIDEMOLYSIS BULLOSA PATIENTS USING GENE-CORRECTED IPSC DERIVED CELLS (Private)

Apr 29 2016 – Apr 28 2017

EPIGENETICS OF ALOPECIA AREATA (Private)

Jan 1 2015 – Dec 31 2016

EPIGENETIC EVENTS UNDERLYING TYPE I DIABETES (Federal Gov)

Sep 20 2011 – Jun 30 2016

MEDICAL GENETICS TRAINING PROGRAM (Federal Gov)

Jul 1 2010 – Jun 30 2016

STEM CELL AND IPSC THERAPY FOR EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA (NY State Gov)

Jun 1 2014 – May 31 2016

MODELING COMPLEX DISEASES USING IPSC-DERIVED SKIN CONSTRUCTS (Federal Gov)

Jul 24 2012 – Jun 30 2015

SKIN REGENERATION IN THE SETTING OF EPIDERMAL STEM CELL ABLATION (NY State Gov)

Mar 1 2013 – Feb 28 2015

HAIRLESS GENE REGULATION OF PREX2 AND COL6A1 (Private)

Jan 1 2014 – Dec 31 2014

GENOME WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES IN ALOPECIA AREATA (Federal Gov)

Sep 19 2008 – Aug 31 2014

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE HAIRLESS PROTEIN (Federal Gov)

Dec 1 2000 – Jun 30 2014

IDENTIFICATION OF ALOPECIA AREATA BIOMARKERS IN SKIN AND BLOOD (Federal Gov)

Aug 1 2011 – Jul 31 2013

STEM CELL THERAPY FOR EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA (NY State Gov)

Jan 1 2009 – Dec 31 2012

CONTINUATION OF ALOPECIA AREATA REGISTRY (Federal Gov)

Sep 1 2006 – Mar 29 2012

NEW RESEARCH REGISTRIES FOR NIAMS (Federal Gov)

Sep 1 2006 – Mar 29 2012

GENETIC AND CELLULAR THERAPIES FOR HAIR AND SKIN DISEASE (NY State Gov)

Jan 1 2007 – Oct 31 2011

GENETIC ANALYSIS OF ALOPECIA AREATA (Federal Gov)

May 1 2006 – Apr 30 2011

EVALUATING THE INCIDENCE, MORBIDITY, MORALITY AND NATURE OF CUTANEOUS SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (SCC) IN PATIENTS WITH REC (Private)

Jan 1 2010 – Dec 31 2010

MOLECULAR GENETICS OF THE KERATODERMAS (Federal Gov)

Jul 30 1998 – Feb 28 2010

NEW RESEARCH REGISTRIES FOR NIAMS (Federal Gov)

Mar 1 2001 – Sep 29 2006

utic approach for inherited skin diseases.

Selected Publications

1. Ahmad, W., ul Haque, M.F., Brancolini, V., Tsou, H.C., ul Haque, S., Lam, H.M., Aita, V.M., Owen, J., deBlaquiere, M., Frank, J.A., Cserhalmi-Friedman, P.B., Leask, A., McGrath, J., Peacocke, M., Ahmad, M., Ott, J. and Christiano, A.M. : (1998) Alopecia Universalis Associated with a Mutation in the Human hairless Gene.  Science  279: 720-724

2. Frank, J., Pignata, C., Panteleyev, A.A., Prowse, D.M., Baden, H., Weiner, L., Gaetaniello, L., Ahmad, W., Pozzi, N., Cserhalmi-Friedman, P.B., Aita, V.M., Uyttendaele, H., Gordon, D., Ott, J., Brissette, J.L. and Christiano, A.M. : (1999) Exposing the Human Nude Phenotype .  Nature  398: 473-474

3. Reynolds, A.J., Lawrence, C., Cserhalmi-Friedman, P.B., Christiano, A.M. and Jahoda, C.A.B.: (1999) Trans-gender Induction of Hair Follicles.  Nature  402: 33-34

4. Djabali, K., Aita, V,M, and Christiano, A.M. : (2001) Hairless is translocated to the nucleus via a novel bipartite nuclear localization signal and is associated with the nuclear matrix.  J. Cell Science  114: 367-376

5. Panteleyev, A.A., Jahoda, C.A.B. and Christiano, A.M.: (2001) Hair Follicle Predetermination.  J. Cell Science   114: 3419-3431

6. Kljuic, A., Bazzi, H., Sundberg, J.P., Martinez-Mir, A., O’Shaughnessy, R., Mahoney, M.G., Levy, M., Montagutelli, X., Ahmad, W., Aita, V.M.,Gordon, D., Uitto, J., Whiting, D., Ott, J., Fischer, S., Gilliam, T.C., Jahoda, C.A.B., Morris, R.J., Panteleyev,: (2003) Desmoglein 4 in hair follicle differentiation and epidermal adhesion: Evidence from inherited hypotrichosis and acquired pemphigus vulgaris.  Cell  113: 249-260