Cristiana Lauri holds a degree in Law from the University of Macerata. She obtained her PhD in Market, Enterprises and Consumers at the University of Roma Tre. She also received an LL.M. from the University of Macerata in 'Innovation in Public Administration'. She was awarded the Prize for the best Doctoral Thesis in Urban Law of the year issued by the Italian Urban Law Association.

Her research interests include administrative law, urban law, law and technology, market regulation, environmental and energy law, and migration law. Her work has been presented at numerous conferences and published in Italian and international law journals.

As a Max Weber Fellow, Cristiana intends to study the governance of smart cities. Her research will focus on the role of public authorities and their autonomy in the face of new forms of technocratic governance. She aims to analyze forms of imbalance in the smart city in light of innovative forms of market regulation based on solidarity, sustainability, cohesion and environmental and social justice.

Cristiana is one of the coordinators of the Global Pandemic Network, where she leads the Covid-19, Cities and Governance working group that includes Un-Habitat members and scholars from around the world.

Cristiana is an adjunct professor of Urban Law and of Town Planning and Cultural Heritage Regulatory Framework at Sapienza University of Rome and of Administrative Law at the University of Macerata.