	Diane Barber, Principal Investigator diane.barber@ucsf.edu Diane, a central California native, completed her undergraduate degree at UC Davis and her PhD at UCLA. To pay her move away dues, she was a postdoctoral fellow at U Mass Medical Center for two years and then an Assistant Professor at Yale University for four years. Longing to return to California and the Pacific Ocean, she joined the UCSF faculty in 1992. Diane has a long-standing interest in signal transduction, GTPases, and how changes in intracellular pH regulate cell behavior. She is thrilled to work with the bright, talented, and fun-loving group of international investigators in her lab.
	Changhoon Choi, Postdoc changhoon.choi@ucsf.edu BIO COMING SOON
	Christian Frantz, Postdoc christian.frantz@ucsf.edu Christian Frantz, our very own Frenchman, earned his PhD in Switzerland and then decided to cross the pond for the States. Unable to brave the conservative American heartland, he landed smack in the middle of San Francisco. Of the entire Barber lab, he has enjoyed the California countryside the most. After biking 100+ miles every weekend, you can find him either surfing Bolinas in the summer or snowboarding the Sierras in the winter. Christian sports the most eclectic iPod library in the building. We can guarantee that no other Frenchman can create a playlist with Shostakovich and Dolly Parton in one click. On the science side, he is sorting out how pH changes in the cytoskeleton induce changes in the actin cytoskeleton by affecting the G-proteins and cofilin. Oh, did we mention he's from France and doesn't like cheese?
	Jennifer Haynes, Postdoc jennifer.haynes@ucsf.edu BIO COMING SOON
	Naira Hunanyan, Visiting Student nara_hg@rambler.ru UNESCO Life Sciences International, Postgraduate Educational Center, Yerevan, Armenia
	Maite Jimenez-Vidal, Postdoc maite.jimenez-vidal@ucsf.edu Dr. Jiménez-Vidal recently crossed the Atlantic from sunny Spain to share her expertise in amino acid transporters. After getting hooked on biochemistry during her stint as an undergraduate in the Barcelona countryside, she moved to the big city to study amino acid transporters at the University of Barcelona. She was awarded her PhD in 2005, and promptly traded the Spanish sun, long Barcelona days, and constant wearing of flip-flops for the somewhat more temperate climate of San Francisco. Maite (whose long list of nicknames currently includes, but certainly is not limited to, Mighty, May 10th, or Michael) spends her days -- and some nights -- identifying intracellular pH regulators using high-throughput RNA screening. While still getting used to the fog, Maite assures us that the radiance of the other members of Barber lab more than make up for the chilly San Francisco days. She spends her spare time exploring the city on her bicycle and claims that her favorite things so far are the Mission, Dolores Park, and the amazing views of the city from one of its many vistas.
	Anastasios Karydis anastasios.karydis@ucsf.edu Ph.D. Student
	Lawrence LeClaire, Postdoc lawrence.leclaire@ucsf.edu Lawrence LeRoy LeClaire the 3rd, or Lawyerence, or Larry, or Skeeter, graduated from Florida State University, Tallahassee. He completed his PhD at FSU working on major sperm protein biochemistry. He then moved with his son and wife across the Big Plains to decadent San Francisco, leaving his fish tanks, Seminoles license plate and his tuba with Jeb Bush. Nevertheless, Skeeter had enough room in the U-Haul van for his bonsai trees, drum and bugle corps music and Paul Simon CDs. He didn't become a liberal in Frisco, he already was a "liberal Redneck" in Florida- Al Franken, Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert being his ultimate heroes. At UCSF, he became an actin polymerization expert in R. Dyche Mullins's lab and then exported his expertise to Diane Barber's lab, for the benefit of everyone. The LLL3rd export package also included his constant good mood, humor, precision and tidiness, along with his family and sperm pictures.
	Jennifer Mackley, Postdoc jennifer.mackley@ucsf.edu Ms. Mackley grew up in the town of Durango surrounded by breathtaking views of the Colorado Rockies (the mountains, not the baseball team). She ventured to Scotland and received her undergraduate degree with some informal training in whiskey drinking from the University of Stirling. Continuing on there to begin her PhD, she finished her thesis at the University of Sheffield in England. At UCSF she is continuing her study of mechanical stimulation, where she is analyzing the role of NHE1 in mechanosensing and mechanotransduction. The return of the Mack to the U.S. has taken some adjustment, but she still keeps up with world news as an avid viewer of Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. In her free time she enjoys strapping on her fancy shoes- from England, of course- and rocking out to the likes of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard.
	Marcel Meima, Postdoc marcel.meima@ucsf.edu Marcel is a frolicsome member of the team and truly a multi-talented man. Though at first glance he may appear esoteric and coy (& Orkski worski), Dr Meima remains a fine example to his Dutchmen; wholesome and goodhearted. Dr. Marcel Meima commenced his PhD in Leiden, Holland studying cyclic nucleotide signaling in Dictyostelium, later to be completed across the North Sea in Dundee, Scotland. Marcel decided to abandon his Dicty (& ooughhh) and is currently interested in identifying NHE1 scaffold function. The lab is kept entertained thanks to Marcel being a closet cell-culture singer, comedian, and ventriloquist - and not to forget he is guardian to lost lab items. Outside of the lab Marcel is an agile and keen player of football, so please, remember that's penalty kicks not PKs! He enjoys life in San Francisco with his wife and one year old daughter, which can be oddly reminiscent of Scottish highlands when the fog rolls in, and totally likes to unwind with good quality single malt whiskies and stuff. [Editor's note: Marcel's absolute favorite album is "Locus Solus" by John Zorn. Make sure to play it whenever he is around.]
	Jyoti Srivastava, Postdoc jyoti.srivastava@ucsf.edu From Wales to Northern Ireland to England to France to San Francisco comes Jyoti Srivastava. Jyoti did her Ph. D. in Peter Parker's laboratory in the ICRF, London, where she worked on protein phosphorylation and cell signaling. She then moved to Monique Arpin's laboratory at the Institut Curie, Paris, to work on tyrosine phosphorylation of ezrin and cell adhesion. Currently, she is interested in elucidating the mechanism of pH sensitivity of actin binding by talin. Jyoti traded in her karate black belt for the spiritual enlightenment of a yoga mat when she came to San Francisco. She is an integral part of getting her colleagues out of the lab and enjoying all San Francisco has to offer, serving as our resident social chair. She also enjoys dance in any form, from salsa to BodyJam, snowboarding at Lake Tahoe in the winter, and providing the occasional rendition of "Livin' On a Prayer" at her local karaoke bar.
	Chris Dumas, Administrative Assistant chris.dumas@ucsf.edu Chris, who lingers obscurely in a nearby office, serves the Barber and neighboring Derynck, Wittmann, and Brückner labs in his capacity as Dr. Photocopier. Hailing from Arkansas, with extended tours of duty in Oberlin (Ohio), New York City, and mid-south Indiana, Chris arrived in San Francisco in 2003 but only joined the Barber lab staff in 2005. He has a hard-earned double Ph.D. in Film Studies and American Studies (cemented with a dissertation on Brian DePalma), and is a devoted practitioner of Vinyasa Yoga. He makes weird mouth noises in his office and generally behaves in a highly formal, stylized manner.