Alexey Y. Karulin, Ph.D

Cofounder, Vice President R&D, CTL Analyzers LLC

Personal Statement
Comprehensive immune monitoring is key to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer, transplant rejection, of infectious, and autoimmune diseases. The ELISPOT technology developed and perfected at CTL over the past two decades has already made principal contribution to this field, and is likely to enable more. Over the 25 years of CTL’s existence, we brought together a most competent and dedicated team of scientists, programmers and engineers, all dedicated to a single task: to perfect immune monitoring by ELISPOT. Together we will continue to develop novel multiplex methods of immune diagnostics enabling basic science, industry, and medicine.

Education and Training

M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. Post-doctoral fellowship at Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH.

Selected Publications
  • Lehmann, P. V., Suwansaard, M., Zhang, T., Roen, D. R., Kirchenbaum, G. A., Karulin, A. Y., Lehmann, A., and Reche, P. A. Comprehensive Evaluation of the Expressed CD8+ T Cell Epitope Space Using High-Throughput Epitope Mapping. Frontiers in Immunology, 2019, 10, 655.
  • Welter, A., Sundararaman, S., Li, R., Zhang, T., Karulin, A. Y., Lehmann, A., Naeem, V., Roen, D. R., Kuerten, S., and Lehmann, P. V. High-Throughput GLP-Capable Target Cell Visualization Assay for Measuring Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity. Cells, 2018, 7, 35.
  • Megyesi, Z., Lehmann, P. V., and Karulin, A. Y. Multi-Color FLUOROSPOT Counting Using ImmunoSpot® Fluoro-X Suite. Methods in Molecular Biology, 2018, 1808, 115-131.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Megyesi, Z., Caspell, R., Hanson, J., and Lehmann, P. V. (2018) Multiplexing T- and B-Cell FLUOROSPOT Assays: Experimental Validation of the Multi-Color ImmunoSpot® Software Based on Center of Mass Distance Algorithm. Methods in Molecular Biology, 2018, 1808, 95-113.
  • Fecher, P., Caspell, R., Naeem, V., Karulin, A. Y., Kuerten, S., and Lehmann, P. V. B Cells and B Cell Blasts Withstand Cryopreservation While Retaining Their Functionality for Producing Antibody. Cells, 2018, 7, 50.
  • Wunsch, M., Zhang, W., Hanson, J., Caspell, R., Karulin, A. Y., Recks, M. S., Kuerten, S., Sundararaman, S., and Lehmann, P. V. (2015) Characterization of the HCMV-Specific CD4 T Cell Responses that Are Associated with Protective Immunity. Viruses, 2015, 7, 4414-4437.
  • Sundararaman, S., Karulin, A. Y., Ansari, T., BenHamouda, N., Gottwein, J., Laxmanan, S., Levine, S. M., Loffredo, J. T., McArdle, S., Neudoerfl, C., Roen, D., Silina, K., Welch, M., and Lehmann, P. V. High Reproducibility of ELISPOT Counts from Nine Different Laboratories. Cells, 2015, 4, 21-39.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Karacsony, K., Zhang, W., Targoni, O. S., Moldovan, I., Dittrich, M., Sundararaman, S., and Lehmann, P. V. ELISPOTs Produced by CD8 and CD4 Cells Follow Log Normal Size Distribution Permitting Objective Counting. Cells, 215, 4, 56-70.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Caspell, R., Dittrich, M., and Lehmann, P. V. Normal Distribution of CD8+ T-Cell-Derived ELISPOT Counts within Replicates Justifies the Reliance on Parametric Statistics for Identifying Positive Responses. Cells, 2015, 4, 96-111.
  • Hanson, J., Sundararaman, S., Caspell, R., Karacsony, E., Karulin, A. Y., and Lehmann, P. V. ELISPOT Assays in 384-Well Format: Up to 30 Data Points with One Million Cells. Cells, 2015, 4, 71-83.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Quast, S., Hesse, M. D., and Lehmann, P. V. Neuroantigen-Specific CD4 Cells Expressing Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), Interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-3 in a Mutually Exclusive Manner Prevail in Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis (EAE). Cells, 2012, 1, 576-596.
  • Karulin, A. Y., and Lehmann, P. V. How ELISPOT morphology reflects on the productivity and kinetics of cells' secretory activity. Methods in Molecular Biology, 2012, 792, 125-143.
  • Zhang, W., Caspell, R., Karulin, A. Y., Ahmad, M., Haicheur, N., Abdelsalam, A., Johannesen, K., Vignard, V., Dudzik, P., Georgakopoulou, K., Mihaylova, A., Silina, K., Aptsiauri, N., Adams, V., Lehmann, P. V., and McArdle, S. ELISPOT assays provide reproducible results among different laboratories for T-cell immune monitoring--even in hands of ELISPOT-inexperienced investigators. Journal of Immunotoxicology, 2009, 6, 227-234.
  • Quast, S., Zhang, W., Shive, C., Kovalovski, D., Ott, P. A., Herzog, B. A., Boehm, B. O., Tary-Lehmann, M., Karulin, A. Y., and Lehmann, P. V. IL-2 absorption affects IFN-gamma and IL-5, but not IL-4 producing memory T cells in double color cytokine ELISPOT assays. Cell Immunol., 2005, 237, 28-36
  • Hofstetter, H. H., Targoni, O. S., Karulin, A. Y., Forsthuber, T. G., Tary-Lehmann, M., and Lehmann, P. V. Does the frequency and avidity spectrum of the neuroantigen-specific T cells in the blood mirror the autoimmune process in the central nervous system of mice undergoing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis? J. Immunol., 2005, 174, 4598-4605
  • Hofstetter, H. H., Karulin, A. Y., Forsthuber, T. G., Ott, P. A., Tary-Lehmann, M., and Lehmann, P. V. The cytokine signature of MOG-specific CD4 cells in the EAE of C57BL/6 mice. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 2005, 170, 105-114
  • Herzog, B. A., Ott, P. A., Dittrich, M. T., Quast, S., Karulin, A. Y., Kalbacher, H., Karges, W., Tary-Lehmann, M., Lehmann, P. V., Boehm, B. O., and Durinovic-Bello, I. Increased in vivo frequency of IA-2 peptide-reactive IFNgamma+/IL-4- T cells in type 1 diabetic subjects. Journal of Autoimmunity. 2004, 23, 45-54.
  • Darabi, K., Karulin, A. Y., Boehm, B. O., Hofstetter, H. H., Fabry, Z., LaManna, J. C., Chavez, J. C., Tary-Lehmann, M., and Lehmann, P. V. The third signal in T cell-mediated autoimmune disease? J. Immunol. 2004, 173, 92-99.
  • Radeke, H. H., Tschernig, T., Karulin, A. Y., Schumm, G., Emancipator, S. N., Resch, K., and Tary-Lehmann, M. CD4+ T cells recognizing specific antigen deposited in glomeruli cause glomerulonephritis-like kidney injury. Clinical Immunology, 2002, 104, 161-173.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Hesse, M. D., Yip, H. C., and Lehmann, P. V. Indirect IL-4 pathway in type 1 immunity. J. Immunol., 2002, 168, 545-553.
  • Targoni, O. S., Baus, J., Hofstetter, H. H., Hesse, M. D., Karulin, A. Y., Boehm, B. O., Forsthuber, T. G., and Lehmann, P. V. Frequencies of neuroantigen-specific T cells in the central nervous system versus the immune periphery during the course of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. J. Immunol. 2001, 166, 4757-4764.
  • Hesse, M. D., Karulin, A. Y., Boehm, B. O., Lehmann, P. V., and Tary-Lehmann, M. A T cell clone's avidity is a function of its activation state. J. Immunol. 2001, 167, 1353-1361.
  • Karulin, A. Y., Hesse, M. D., Tary-Lehmann, M., and Lehmann, P. V. Single-cytokine-producing CD4 memory cells predominate in type 1 and type 2 immunity. J Immunol. 2000, 164, 1862-1872.
  • Heeger, P. S., Forsthuber, T., Shive, C., Biekert, E., Genain, C., Hofstetter, H. H., Karulin, A.Y, and Lehmann, P. V. (2000) Revisiting tolerance induced by autoantigen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. J. Immunol., 2000, 164, 5771-5781.
  • Yip, H. C., Karulin, A. Y., Tary-Lehmann, M., Hesse, M. D., Radeke, H., Heeger, P. S., Trezza, R. P., Heinzel, F. P., Forsthuber, T., and Lehmann, P. V. Adjuvant-guided type-1 and type-2 immunity: infectious/noninfectious dichotomy defines the class of response. J. Immunol. 1999, 162, 3942-3949.