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:

Search LinkedIn for education and work history
- Query: "[Full Name] LinkedIn [institution if known]"
- Extract: degrees, institutions, prior positions
Search GitHub for username and projects
- Query: "[Full Name] GitHub [email domain if known]"
- Extract: username, notable repositories
Search institutional pages for bio information
- Query: "[Full Name] [institution] neuroscience/biology/computer science"
- Extract: research interests, current work
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:

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)
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
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

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"
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
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

Create filename: _members/firstname-lastname.md

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

Add bio text (from Step 3)
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:

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)
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:

Current role and institution
When they joined (month and year)
Education background (degree, major, institution)
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:

Set role: alumni in frontmatter
Include their actual role in bio text
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:

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

Joint Appointments

When member has joint affiliation:

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

Students Transitioning Roles

When student moves from undergrad → MS → PhD:

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

Summer Interns

Short-term members (2-3 months):

While active: Add with role undergrad or highschool
When leaving: Change to role: alumni
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