Karen L. Kaul, Associate Professor
Medical School
Northwestern University

E-mail: k-kaul@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-570-2052

BA, Drake University
PhD/MD, Northwestern University Medical School

Research Areas
The Kaul group is involved in translational research, using basic molecular techniques to diagnose and monitor human disease. They have developed a number of in house assays for the detection of various malignancies and infectious agents, validated these for clinical use, and utilized them to improve patient care and achieve a better understanding of the disease.

The research focus has been on the study of the mechanisms and consequences of metastasis for breast and prostate cancer. They have developed sensitive and specific RT-PCR assays for the detection of breast and prostate epithelial cells, and used these methods to search for occult tumor cells outside the organ of origin in cancer patients, such as blood, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. They have demonstrated, for example, that tumor cells are present in the bloodstream of a subset of patients with prostate cancer, and that tumor cells can be showered into the circulation during surgery. They are currently monitoring these patients and developing animal models in which to study the clinical relevance of these cells, as well as mechanisms to inactivate them.

Additionally, they are utilizing genetic methods to identify new markers for tumor cells. They are particularly interested in those that correlate with a more aggressive phenotype and thus the ability of tumor cells to result in a metastatic lesion.

Related Publications
"Longitudinal assessment of prostate specific antigen (PSA) reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTÐPCR) of circulating prostate epithelial cells following radical retropubic prostatectomy," J.M. Ignatoff, K.L. Kaul, M.G. Oefelein, W. Watkin, J. Urology, 162: 307-311 (1999).

"A new polymerase chain reaction-based method for the detection of T-cell clonality in patients with possible cutaneous T-cell lymphoma," J. Guitarr, K.L. Kaul, Archives of Dermatology, 135: 158-162 (1999).

"Detection of breast cancer cells in blood utilizing immunomagnetic bead selection and RT-PCR," K.L. Kaul, S. Luke, Molecular Diagnostics, 3: 149-156 (1998).

"Prostate specific antigen reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in preoperative staging of prostate cancer," J.M. Ignatoff, M.G. Oefelein, W. G. Watkin, and K.L. Kaul J. Urology 158: 1870-1875 (1997).

"Molecular detection of prostate epithelial cells from the surgical field and peripheral circulation during radical prostatectomy," M. Oefelein, K.L. Kaul, B. Herz, J. Ignatoff, J. Urology 155: 238-242 (1996).

"Detection of clonal rearrangement of the T cell receptor gamma gene by polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphisms (PCR-SSCP)," K.L. Kaul, M. Petrick, B. Herz, T.C. Cheng, Molecular Diagnosis, 1: 131-137 (1996).

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