Dr. Winn has a special interest in women with rheumatologic diseases and pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. Her research focuses on both normal and abnormal human placentation, in order to better understand pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. The human placenta is uniquely invasive, with the maternal-fetal interface being a truly chimeric tissue. Understanding the regulation of cytotrophoblast differentiation along the invasive pathway is the primary area of research in the lab, employing a variety of in vivo and in vitro models using human trophoblast cells. The laboratory uses multiple cellular and molecular biology techniques including, cell culture, explants, video microscopy, Q-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, adenoviral transfection and gene expression microarrays.