Nikolai Barulin became a member of the Great Lakes Center in April 2024. He has 18 years of research experience and over 15 years of teaching experience. Since 2010, Nikolai has held the position of Chair of Ichthyology and Aquaculture Department and position of Professor (full, since 2022) at the at the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy (Gorki, Belarus). Before coming to the GLC, Nikolai was a Fulbright Scholar and worked as Visiting Senior Research Associate at Brown University (Rhode Island). Nikolai’s research interests are in areas of aquatic ecology, fishery, aquaculture, aquatic toxicology, use of zebrafish in biomedical research, biophysics, and deep machine learning. Throughout his research career, Nikolai published over 70 research articles, 15 chapters in books, and secured over $10 million in funding. In Belarus, Nikolai spearheaded the construction of the first hatchery recirculating aquaculture system for rainbow trout, and the first zebrafish facility. He received over 20 scientific awards. At the GLC, Nikolai is responsible for the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative extensive surveys for all the Great Lakes, and involved in remote sensing, image processing, data analysis, and grant management.
Full CV (PDF, 708KB)
Aquatic Ecology; Aquatic Toxicology; Embryotoxicology; Laboratory Breeding of Zebrafish; Use of Zebrafish in Biomedical Research; Aquaculture of Sturgeon, Salmon and Catfish; Recirculating Aquaculture Systems; Artificial reproduction of Fish; Sturgeon Sex Identification; Sturgeon Scutes Morphology; Fish Sperm Biology; Fish Nutrition; Fish Neurobiology; Fish Behavior; Laser Physics and Optics; Biophysics; Biostatistics in R; Deep Machine Learning
2006: B.S. Fish farming. Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2009: Ph.D. Fish breeding technology. Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2022: Ph.D. (Dr. habil.) Aquaculture. Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2006: Senior Fish Farm Manager, Sturgeon Fish Farms “Aquatoria”, Minsk region, Belarus
2006 – 2009: PhD-student, Department of Ichthyology and Aquaculture, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
Jul. – Sep. 2007: Visiting PhD-student, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
2009 – 2010: Assistant Professor, Researcher, Department of Ichthyology and Aquaculture, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2010 – 2023: Chair & Associate Professor of Ichthyology Department and Aquaculture, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2013: Academic Secretary of the Dissertation Committee. Dissertation Committee member (Animal and Fish Sciences). Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
2012 – 2016: Co-Chief Manager, Rainbow Trout Farm, Department of Ichthyology and Aquaculture, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
Sep. – Oct. 2019: Visiting Faculty, Zebrafish Lab, Department of Aquaculture, Szent István University, Gödöllő, Hungary
Feb. 2023 – Mar. 2024: Professor, Department of Ichthyology and Aquaculture, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus
Jan. – Jun. 2023: Fulbright Scholar, R. Colwill Lab, Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, USA
Jul. – Oct. 2023: Fulbright Scholar, J. Plavicki Lab, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, USA
Oct. 2023: Invited lecturer, Northwest A&F University, China
Oct. 2023 – Mar. 2024: Visiting Senior Research Associate, J. Plavicki Lab, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, USA
Apr. 2024 – present: Research Scientist, Great Lakes Center, The Research Foundation for SUNY, Buffalo State University, USA
2018 : Development of the cultivation of the Clarium catfish in recirculating aquaculture systems. Gosrybkhoz (Russia). $3,000. (PI)
2018 – 2020: Aquaculture Education Facility Development. Belarusian Republican Innovation Fund. $300,000. (PI)
2018 – 2020: Sex and age classification models and regularities of the corium structure of sterlets (Acipenser ruthenus L., 1758). Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research. $10,000. (PI)
2020 – 2021: Influence of marker selection on the growth and development of valuable fish species in the aquaculture of Belarus. Belarusian State Committee on Science and Technology. $16,000. (Co-PI)
2022: Comparative study of the Belarusian produced feeds on the growth and development of rainbow trout in the recirculating aquaculture systems. Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation. (PI)
2022 – 2024: Precision and robustness of the CASA method depending on the characteristics of the microscope light source. Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research. $14,000. (PI)
2023: Research Grant from the President of the Republic of Belarus. $7,000. (PI)
2022 – 2024: Sex differentiation and gonadal development of Chinese and Belarusian sturgeon. Northwest A&F University (Co-PI)
Puligilla R. D., N. J. Roos, J. S. Bolten, N. B. Hopf, M.-G. Zurich, N. Barulin#, J. Huwyler#. 2024. Zebrafish as a model to assess the neurotoxic potential of propylene glycol ethers. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. [In press].
Dongmei Xiong, D., C. Dong., L. Wang., J. J. Alava., N. V. Barulin, S. Liu. 2024. Maternal Daphnia magna exposure to the antidepressant sertraline causes multi-generational molting, reproductive, and serotonergic dysfunction. Aquatic Toxicology [In press].
Paquette, S. E., C. I. Oduor, A. Gaulke, S. Stefan, P. Bronk, V. Dafonseca, N. Barulin, C. Lee, R. Carley, A. R. Morrison, B.-R. Choi, J. A. Bailey, J. S. Plavicki. 2024. Loss of developmentally derived Irf8+ macrophages promotes hyperinnervation and arrhythmia in the adult zebrafish heart. bioRxiv 2024.04.17.589909. [Preprint]
Shi, X., K. Xiao, G. Peng, H. Huang, D. Xiong, N. Barulin, J. Yang. 2024. Embryo development indices for the endangered Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis: the role of temperature on incubation time. Environ Biol Fish 107: 899–907.
Barulin, N. V. 2022. Сoncentration of Steriod Hormones and Ultrasonography of Pathologies of the Internal Organs of Females of the Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii (Acipenseridae) Reared at Constant Presence of Grower Feed and High Stocking Density. Journal of Ichthyology 62(7).
Barulin, N. V., K. L. Shumski†. 2022. Morphological, Biochemical, and Functional Changes in Sperm of the Siberian Sturgeon Acipenser baerii (Acipenseridae) during its Short-Term Storage. Journal of Ichthyology 62(7).
Slukvin, A. M., S. E. Dromashko, N. A. Balashenko, N. V. Barulin, A. E. Barmintseva. 2022. Study results on the molecular genetic, morphometric, and sexual characteristics of the beluga (Huso huso L., 1758) grown in the aquaculture of the Republic of Belarus. Azerbaijan Journal of Physiology, 1(37), #1: 69-80.
Plavskii, V. Y., N. V. Barulin, A. V. Mikulich, A. I. Tretyakova, T. S. Ananich, L. G. Plavskaya, I. A. Leusenka, A. N. Sobchuk, V. A. Sysov, O. N. Dudinova, A. I. Vodchits, I. A. Khodasevich, and V. A. Orlovich. 2021. Effect of continuous wave, quasi-continuous wave and pulsed laser radiation on functional characteristics of fish spermatozoa. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 216: 112112.
Dromashko, S. E., A.M. Slukvin, N. A. Balashenko, N. V. Barulin, A. E. Barmintseva. 2021. Molecular-genetic, morphometric and sexual characteristics of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso L., 1758) cultured in the aquaculture of the Republic of Belarus. Agricultural Sciences / Agrarni Nauki 13 (28): 13-24.
Plavskii, V., A. Mikulich, N. Barulin, T. Ananich, L. Plavskaya, A. Tretyakova and A. Leusenka. 2020. Comparative Effect of Low-intensity Laser Radiation in Green and Red Spectral Regions on Functional Characteristics of Sturgeon Sperm. Photochemistry and Photobiology 96 (6): 1294-1313.
Barulin, N. 2019. Using machine learning algorithms to analyse the scute structure and sex identification of sterlet Acipenser ruthenus (Acipenseridae). Aquaculture Research 50: 2810–2825.
Barulin, N. V. 2018. Intravital sex identification of adult sterlets Acipenser ruthenus (Acipenseridae) based on the morphological structure of dorsal scutes. Journal of Ichthyology 58: 17–30.
Shalak, M. V., N. V. Barulin, M. S. Liman*, and V. Y. Plavskii. 2018. Influence of coherence low intensity optical radiation and radiation periodicity on enzyme activity of embryos of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum, 1792) (PDF). J Aquac Mar Biol. 1 (4): 190‒192.
Plavskii, V., N. Barulin, M. Liman*, S. Rahautsou, A. Mikulich, A. Grabtchikov, A. Vodchits, I. Khodasevich, L. Batay, A. Tretyakova, L. Plavskaya, and V. Orlovich. 2018. Biological effect of continuous, quasi-continous and pulsed laser radiation. KnE Energy & Physics: 386–393.
Barulin, N. 2017. External sex specific signs in the structure of derivatives of sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus, Linnaeus, 1758) corium. Acta Biol. Univ. Daugavp. 17 (1): 9–17.
Barulin, N., M. Liman*, and V. Plavskii. 2017. Survival of embryos and larvae of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum, 1792) under influence of optical radiation at various temperature regimes. Acta Biol. Univ. Daugavp. 17 (1): 19–28.
Plavskii, V. Yu., N. V. Barulin, A. V. Mikulich [et al.]. 2016. Biological activity of low-intensity continuous, quasi-continuous and pulsed laser radiation of nano- and picosecond ranges. Journal of Applied Spectroscopy 83 (6-16): 717-718.
Barulin, N. V. 2015. Serum enzyme response of captive sturgeon brookstock Acipenser baerii Brandt 1869 females and two hybrids (bester = female Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758 х male Acipenser ruthenus Linneaus, 1758, and RsSs = A. gueldenstaedtii Brandt 1833 х A. baerii Brandt 1869) to hormonal stimulation for spawning induction. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 31: 2–6.
Plavskii, V. Yu., N. V. Barulin, A. S. Grabtchikov, I. A. Khodasevich, L. G. Plavskaya, A. I. Tretyakova, A. V. Mikulich, and V. A. Orlovich. 2012. Regulatory action of laser radiation of red and near infrared spectral regions on the zooplankton Artemia salina L. Advances in Optics, Photonics, Spectroscopy & Applications VII: 774–777.
Barulin, N. V. and V. Y. Plavskii. 2012. Effect of polarization and coherence of optical radiation on sturgeon sperm motility. International Journal of Biological, Life Science and Engineering 6 (7): 23-27.
Plavskii, V. Yu., and N. V. Barulin. 2010. Investigation of biological activity mechanisms of low intensity optical radiation at the embryonic level. Advances in Optics, Photonics, Spectroscopy & Applications VI: 228–233.
Plavskii, V. Yu., and N. V. Barulin. 2008. How the biological activity of low-intensity laser radiation depends on its modulation frequency. Journal of Optical Technology 75 (9): 546-552.
Plavskii, V. Yu., and N. V. Barulin. 2008. Effect of polarization and coherence of low-intensity optical radiation on fish embryos. Journal of Applied Spectroscopy 75 (6): 843-856.
Plavskii, V. Yu., and N. V. Barulin. 2008. Effect of exposure of sturgeon roe to low-intensity laser radiation on the hardiness of juvenile sturgeon. Journal of Applied Spectroscopy 75(2): 241-250.
World Sturgeon Conservation Society
Network of Aquaculture Centers in Central-Eastern Europe (NACEE)
2011: 11 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2012: 8 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2013: 10 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2014: 7 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2015: 6 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2016: 5 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2017: 6 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2018: 5 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2019: 7 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2020: 6 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2021: 8 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2022: 10 students, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
Total 89 students
2010 – 2011: Evgeniy Ivanov, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2011 – 2012: Konstantin Shumski, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2013 – 2014: Ekaterina Novikova, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2014 – 2015: Leonid Atroshchenko, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2015 – 2016: Evgeniy Melekh, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2015 – 2016: Tatiana Yurchenko, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2017 – 2018: Anna Shevtsova, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2019 – 2020: Alexey Mikhlyuk, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2019 – 2020: Maria Lobanova, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2019 – 2020: Dmitry Lashkevich, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2020 – 2021: Artem Vorobiev, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2020 – 2021: Anastasia Zharikova, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2021 – 2023: Roman Kurilin, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2022 – 2024: Ekaterina Shardyko, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
Total 14 Master students
2014 – 2018: Konstantin Shumski, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2015 – 2018: Mustafa Suleiman Liman, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2016 – 2020: Sergey Sventorzhitsky, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2016 – 2021: Alexey Volynets, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2021 – 2024: Anastasia Zharikova, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
2021 – 2024: Mikhail Trusevich, Belarusian State Agricultural Academy
Total 6 Doctoral students
