Add Lab Member

This skill guides you through adding a new lab member to the website with proper formatting, bio writing, and image handling.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• "Add a new lab member"
• "Create a profile for [name]"
• "Add [name] to the team page"
• "Update [name]'s role"
• "Mark [name] as alumni"
• Any request involving adding or updating team member profiles

Interactive Workflow

Step 1: Gather Basic Information

Ask the user for essential details:

Required:

• Full name
• Role (pi, postdoc, staff, phd, ms, ra, programmer, undergrad, highschool)

Optional (we'll research if not provided):

• Email address
• GitHub username
• LinkedIn profile
• Personal website
• Current institution/program (if student)

Use AskUserQuestion to collect this information if not provided in the initial request.

Step 2: Web Research

Conduct web research to gather background information:

1. Search LinkedIn for education and work history

   • Query: "[Full Name] LinkedIn [institution if known]"
   • Extract: degrees, institutions, prior positions

2. Search GitHub for username and projects

   • Query: "[Full Name] GitHub [email domain if known]"
   • Extract: username, notable repositories

3. Search institutional pages for bio information

   • Query: "[Full Name] [institution] neuroscience/biology/computer science"
   • Extract: research interests, current work

4. Search publications if applicable (PhD/postdoc)

   • Query: "[Full Name] [institution] publications"
   • Extract: research areas

Present findings to user:

• Show what you found
• Ask user to confirm accuracy
• Ask for clarification on anything unclear
• Request any missing critical information

Step 3: Draft Bio

Using the gathered information and role-appropriate template:

1. Determine bio length based on role:

   • PI: 250-300 words (detailed)
   • PhD/Postdoc/Staff: 100-150 words
   • MS/RA/Programmer: 80-120 words
   • Undergrad: 80-100 words
   • Alumni: 50-250 words (based on tenure and achievements)

2. Follow bio template from templates/ directory:

   • Use third-person voice
   • Professional, academic tone
   • Include: education, join date, research focus/current work
   • Mention co-advisors if applicable
   • Highlight prior experience if relevant
   • Note awards/fellowships if notable

3. Present draft to user:

   • Show the drafted bio
   • Ask if they want to make any edits
   • Refine based on feedback

Step 4: Handle Profile Image

1. Ask user for image:

   • "Do you have a profile photo for [name]?"
   • If yes: "Please provide the path to the image file"
   • If no: "We can use a placeholder for now and add it later"

2. If image provided, validate and optimize:

   • Check file size and dimensions using file or sips
   • Target specs: 100-250 KB, reasonably square aspect ratio
   • If too large (>500 KB) or wrong aspect ratio:
     • Offer to resize/optimize using scripts/optimize-image.sh
     • Use sips (macOS) or convert (ImageMagick) if available

3. Generate image filename:

   • Format: firstname-lastname.jpg
   • Ensure no spaces or special characters
   • Copy to images/ directory with correct name

Step 5: Generate Member File

1. Create filename: _members/firstname-lastname.md

2. Build frontmatter:

   ---
   name: [Full Name]
   image: images/[firstname-lastname].jpg
   role: [role]
   description: [Role display text from roles.yaml]
   links:
     email: [email if provided]
     github: [username if found/provided]
     linkedin: [profile if found/provided]
     home-page: [url if provided]
   ---
   

   • Only include links that are available
   • Remove empty link fields

3. Add bio text (from Step 3)

4. Write file to _members/firstname-lastname.md

Step 6: Handle Alumni (if applicable)

If the role is alumni OR user indicates this person is leaving:

1. Ask for alumni details:

   • Year they left/are leaving
   • Their role while in the lab (if different from current)
   • "Next" position (where they're going)

2. Update team/index.md:

   • Read current alumni section
   • Add entry in chronological order (most recent first):

     - YEAR: [**Name**](/members/firstname-lastname.html) (Role Description). **Next:** [Next position]
     

   • Maintain proper formatting

Step 7: Validate

Run validation checks:

• Member file exists at _members/firstname-lastname.md
• YAML frontmatter is valid
• Role is valid (check against roles.yaml)
• Image file exists (or noted as placeholder)
• Bio is appropriate length for role
• Bio uses third-person voice
• Links are properly formatted
• If alumni: team/index.md is updated

Step 8: Present Summary

Show the user what was created:

✓ Created member profile for [Name]
✓ File: _members/firstname-lastname.md
✓ Role: [role display text]
✓ Image: images/firstname-lastname.jpg [or "Placeholder - add later"]
✓ Links: [list of included links]
[✓ Updated alumni list] [if applicable]

Bio preview:
[First 100 characters of bio]...

Would you like me to show you the full file content?

Step 9: Optional Commit

Ask user if they want to commit the changes:

• If yes: Create git commit with appropriate message
• If no: Leave as unstaged changes for manual review

Bio Writing Guidelines

Voice and Tone

• Always third person: "Jane is a PhD student..." (not "I am...")
• Professional and academic: Formal but not stuffy
• Factual and achievement-oriented: Focus on credentials and work
• Present tense for current work: "working on", "developing", "researching"
• Past tense for background: "received", "worked", "joined"

Essential Elements

All members should include:

1. Current role and institution
2. When they joined (month and year)
3. Education background (degree, major, institution)
4. Current research/work focus

Additional elements by role:

PI:

• PhD institution and advisors (with hyperlinks)
• Research philosophy and approach
• Notable publications or media coverage
• Prior positions
• Major awards and honors

PhD/Postdoc:

• Undergraduate and/or Master's institution
• Specific research interests
• Co-advisors if applicable
• Previous research experience if notable

Staff/Programmer:

• Prior work experience (industry or academic)
• Technical expertise and focus areas
• Projects they're working on
• Joint appointments if applicable

Students (MS/Undergrad):

• Major and year
• Research interests
• Prior internships or research if applicable
• Awards/fellowships if notable

Alumni:

• All of above based on their role
• Mentors (especially for short-term interns)
• Achievements during time in lab
• Keep concise for summer interns (50-80 words)

What to Avoid

• First person narrative (except possibly PI intro)
• Excessive detail about projects (keep to 1-2 sentences)
• Future tense or speculation
• Casual language or slang
• Personal information unrelated to research
• Redundancy with frontmatter (name, role already shown)

Image Handling Details

Preferred Specifications

• Format: JPG (preferred) or PNG
• Size: 100-250 KB for web optimization
• Aspect ratio: Square or nearly square (1:1 or 4:5)
• Minimum dimensions: 300x300 pixels
• Recommended: 400x400 to 600x600 pixels
• Color: RGB color space

Optimization Process

If image needs optimization:

# Use the bundled script
bash .claude/skills/add-member/scripts/optimize-image.sh input.jpg output.jpg 500

Or manually with sips (macOS):

# Resize to 500px max dimension, maintaining aspect ratio
sips -Z 500 input.jpg --out output.jpg

# Convert PNG to JPG
sips -s format jpeg input.png --out output.jpg

Or with ImageMagick:

# Resize and optimize
convert input.jpg -resize 500x500^ -quality 85 output.jpg

Filename Convention

• Use kebab-case: firstname-lastname.jpg
• No spaces, special characters, or uppercase
• Match the member file slug
• Examples: jane-doe.jpg, john-smith.jpg

Role-Specific Notes

Adding Alumni

When adding someone who has already left:

1. Set role: alumni in frontmatter
2. Include their actual role in bio text
3. Update team/index.md alumni section with:
   • Year they left
   • Role description in parentheses
   • "Next:" annotation if known

Handling Co-Advisors

When member has co-advisor:

1. Mention in bio: "co-advised by [Name]"
2. Include hyperlink if possible: [Name](url)
3. Note in summary when presenting to user

Joint Appointments

When member has joint affiliation:

1. Mention in bio: "jointly with the [Lab Name]"
2. Include hyperlink to other lab if available
3. Note collaborating PIs clearly

Students Transitioning Roles

When student moves from undergrad → MS → PhD:

1. Create new member file? No - keep same file
2. Update role: field in frontmatter
3. Update bio to reflect new status
4. Update description: field
5. Consider adding a note about the transition in bio

Summer Interns

Short-term members (2-3 months):

1. While active: Add with role undergrad or highschool
2. When leaving: Change to role: alumni
3. Bio: Can be brief (50-80 words) but highlight:
   • Institution and program
   • What they worked on
   • Who mentored them
   • Any notable achievements

Error Handling

If web search finds nothing:

• Ask user to provide information directly
• Offer to draft minimal bio and let them expand

If image is wrong format/size:

• Offer to optimize using provided tools
• If tools not available, provide manual instructions
• Worst case: use placeholder and note in summary

If unsure about role:

• Present role options from roles.yaml
• Use AskUserQuestion to clarify

If duplicate member exists:

• Check if it's an update vs new member
• Ask user if they want to update existing or create new

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

• Full name matches across filename, frontmatter, and bio
• Role is valid (one of: pi, postdoc, staff, phd, ms, ra, programmer, undergrad, highschool, alumni)
• Image filename follows convention (kebab-case, .jpg)
• Bio is third person throughout
• Bio length appropriate for role (see guidelines)
• Join date mentioned in bio (month and year)
• Education background included
• All links are properly formatted
• YAML frontmatter is valid (test with parser)
• If alumni: team/index.md updated correctly
• No trailing whitespace or formatting issues

See Also

• reference.md - Detailed documentation on member file format and patterns
• examples.md - Example workflows for different scenarios
• templates/ - Bio templates for each role type