Carla V. Rothlin

Carla V. Rothlin is an Argentinian immunologist. She is a professor of immunobiology at Yale University, where she holds the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professorship, and also serves as a professor of pharmacology. Rothlin is the co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at Yale Cancer Center and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Faculty Scholar.

Rothlin studies the mechanisms that regulate immune homeostasis and wound repair, with specific interests in cell death recognition, immune checkpoints, and cellular crosstalk in the context of injury and cell turnover. She has made fundamental discoveries about the roles of TAM receptors tyrosine kinase and their ligands in the regulation of inflammation. Rothlin is also a co-founder of the Global Immunotalks, a weekly series of virtual lectures on recent immunological research, which began in 2020.

Early life and education Rothlin grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was one of four daughters, raised by her mother, a physician, and her father, a pharmacology researcher. She was mentored by Ana Belén Elgoyhen and studied the biochemical properties of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the inner ear. Her work helped further scientific understanding of how efferent cholinergic fibers and inner ear hair cells communicate information from the brain back to the ear to mediate sensory tuning.

Rothlin completed her graduate studies in 2002 and moved to San Diego, California, for her postdoctoral work

During her postdoctoral studies, Rothlin was part of a team that discovered the role of TAM receptor tyrosine kinases—Tyro3, Axl, and MerTk—in regulating inflammation. They found that these receptors inhibit Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and TLR-induced cytokine cascades in the innate immune response. Specifically, cytokine-dependent TAM signaling is upregulated by type I interferon-STAT1 signaling, leading to the expression of cytokine and TLR suppressors. This process acts as a negative feedback loop in inflammation. In 2018, Rothlin became the Director of Graduate Studies in Immunobiology at Yale. In 2019, she was appointed the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Immunobiology.

Rothlin is a co-director of the Rothlin Ghosh Lab, which focuses on exploring the mechanisms of immune regulation and homeostasis. The Rothlin Ghosh Lab has made critical discoveries regarding TAM receptor tyrosine kinases, their ligands, and the roles their interactions play as innate immune checkpoints in regulating the immune response. They have specifically found that TAM receptors help inhibit the innate immune response, that the TAM ligand protein S can mediate the ability of T cells to limit dendritic cell activation, and their roles in controlling type 2 immunity and the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells.

TAM receptors and immune homeostasis Rothlin and her team discovered a mechanism by which the adaptive immune system helps regulate chronic inflammation through the control of dendritic cells (DCs). They found that T cells produce the TAM ligand protein S, which acts on TAM receptors on DCs to limit their activation. They found that viruses coated with TAM ligands activate TAMs on dendritic cells, which limits interferon signaling and helps the viruses evade immune responses and enable replication.

Innate immune checkpoints in cancer Rothlin's lab also explores the role TAMs play in cellular immunology and innate immune checkpoints in cancer. Rothlin and her team are working upstream of T cell exhaustion markers, targeting the innate immune system checkpoints that involve TAMs. In 2017, Rothlin and her team further elucidated the roles of Axl in tumor growth. They found that Axl expression is upregulated in colorectal cancer and that limiting Axl expression prevented tumor cell migration and invasion.

Scientific outreach Rothlin aims to improve the scientific community through her leadership roles and outreach projects. and serves as a senior editor for Immunology and Inflammation at eLife.

Rothlin is also the co-founder of the Global Immunotalks Lectures, which she started in 2020 with her colleague, friend, and fellow immunologist Elina Zúñiga. The initiative aims to make cutting-edge immunology accessible to a global audience without the need for travel. Every Wednesday, Rothlin and Zúñiga invite a renowned immunologist to share their latest findings with a global audience via Zoom. The talks are recorded and posted on YouTube. 2016 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar 2011 Novel Research Grant – Lupus Research Institute 2010 Senior Research Award – Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America 2008 Special Fellow – Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2008 Scientist Development Award – American Heart Association 2002 Pew Foundation Fellow 2002 Bernardo Houssay Award – Sociedad Argentina de Biologia