Lab Alumni
lab staff
Natalie K. Barker - 2014-2019
As the Assistant Director of Proteomics, Natalie is responsible for the general operation and maintenance of two Thermo Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometers with DIONEX nano liquid chromatography systems. In this role, Natalie has collaborated with researchers throughout the UofA campus that are interested in performing quantitative proteomics, assist with experimental design, teach mass spectrometry based protocols, and finally help in any way possible to make sure users acquire the highest quality, manuscript-ready data. To this end, she is responsible for the continuous optimization and adaptation of mass spectrometry protocols for maximizing efficiency and increased workflow. Protocols that are performed in the Proteomics Laboratory include in solution digestion, fractionation by in gel digestion, phosphopeptide enrichment, and filter-aided sample prep.
As a Senior Research Specialist in Dr. Paul Langlais’ lab, Natalie’s work centers on discovering new CLASP2 protein-protein interactions via the utilization of immunoprecipitation-based MS interactome analyses with the overall goal of discovering new insulin-dependent biological pathways of CLASP2. Some of the laboratory techniques/skills that Natalie proficient in include but are not limited to gel electrophoresis, immunoprecipitations, Western blots, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Bradford assays, MS sample preparation, development of plasmid constructs, and general cell culture techniques. Additionally, Natalie assists with the preparation of figures and text for manuscripts and grants, present data at research laboratory meetings, train new lab members, and ensure the general upkeep and maintenance of the laboratory environment.
James Krantz - 2014-2019
Since October of 2014, James have been a Senior Research Specialist in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Langlais. Throughout his time in this role, James main research goals have been to characterize the CLASP2 interactome in adipocytes and myotubes, characterize the interactomes of CLASP2 interacting proteins, and to further elucidate the functions of CLASP2 in insulin signal transduction. James perform a wide array of general laboratory biochemical, molecular biology, cell culture, and mass spectrometry based techniques. He is responsible for collaborating with researchers and technicians from other groups, ordering lab products/equipment, set up/organization of the laboratory environment, assisting with manuscript and grant preparation, participating in group lab meetings and journal club presentations, training new lab members, and lab/equipment maintenance.
James was awarded a B.S. degree in Biology from Indiana University in 2011. After his undergraduate studies, he moved to The Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, where he worked for five years as a Research Technologist. At this institution, James held several different positions working in academic and clinical research roles that provided him with a wide range of skills. Techniques that James gained experience in include but are not limited to microscopy, histology, clinical research laboratory techniques, and the handling and manipulation of mice and rats for in vivo metabolic studies.
Mackenzie Roman - 2019-2021
In the Fall of 2019, Mackenzie came to us from the Gus Mounemnie Laboratory over in the Cellular & Molecular Medicine Department where she worked all during college and for a year or two after. Mack brought a lot of cell biology experience which was a huge asset, she was basically a walking R01 grant. Mack had a strong interest to transition to a PhD program and so she was only able to stay with us for less than two years, she's currently getting ready to start graduate school in Utah so good luck Mac!!!
post-doc / fellow
James L. Dillon, MD - 2018
James Dillon has a nice history with the Langlais Lab. While both at good ol' ASU, James did his Undergraduate Honors Thesis with Paul and then left for medical school at UA Phoenix as part of the inagural class. After graduating James spent about a year back again with Paul in 2018 helping out with all kinds of stuff. James left to be a fancy doctor. Lame.
student
Dehaven McCrary - 2019-2021
2019 - DeHaven, a fresh young twig of a scientist at the tender age of 21 who graduated college at 20 WHO DOES THAT, has become the VERY FIRST GRADUATE STUDENT TO EVER ROLL THE DICE ON A DEGREE WITH THE LANGLAIS LAB. I'm not exactly sure what DeHaven was thinking but we are really glad to have you aboard. DeHaven comes to us from the midwest, where he had some limited experience in a lab working on cat testicles, so we know he's going to have a BALL in the Langlais Laboratory. DeHaven has been an instant fit and has hit the ground running on the CLASP2 phosphorylation project. DeHaven is also beginning to work on the super secret CLIP2/AGAP3 project as well, which I realize is not a secret if I put it on the internet but no one is going to read this anyway so WELCOME DEHAVEN LET'S DO THIS.
2022 - UPDATE - DeHaven graduated and has moved on to greater things like not doing a PhD in the Langlais Lab. What's up with that. I don't know. You'd think after me crying tears of blood for this kid he'd stick with it and go the length with the Langlais Lab right?! Well no. He gave us the big middle finger and said adios, i'm getting a PhD in a fancy school where PIs actually have funding. Whatever. We miss you buddy. Call me?
Undergraduates
Anay Amaro - 2022 - 2023
Summer 2022 - Earlier in the Spring I had been contacted by a new undergraduate student, Anay Amaro, who checked out the Langlais Lab website and somehow convinced herself to contact me. Anay had been accepted into the McNair Scholars Program, and she needed to choose a lab to conduct an 8-week lab boot camp of sorts. After a bit of flomping, Anay ended up going for it with us. Anay, a junior transitioning to her senior year, hails from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora in Mexico, and loves herself some singer i've never heard of, Alejandro Fernandez. Turns out ol' Al charges $450 a ticket to see him live, so, whoever this fella is, he must be pretty damn impressive CAUSE I DON'T KNOW A SINGLE PERSON THAT WOULD EVER PAY $450 FOR A TICKET TO SEE A SHOW IN TUCSON. Anyway, even though her weeks with us were the equivalent of science prison, her excellent work ethic and drive to succeed got her through the gauntlet. Anay has asked to stay on with us here in the lab for her senior year to fill out her committment to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium. We're all crossing our fingers that we'll hit paydirt and discover something in the short time Anay will be with the lab. We'd better, this failing is getting old.
Spring 2023 - And just like that, she's gone. On to bigger and better things. Anay had one hell of a 6-week immersion with the Langlais Lab as part of her McNair Scholars Program experience. She showed up knowing nothing but six weeks later she presented at her Los Angeles McNair Meeting and crushed it. Anay ended up requesting to stay on in the Langlais Lab after her McNair fellowship ended and it was nice to have her contribute. Alas, it was not long lasting, she graduated and got accepted to the UA School of Pharmacy. That's right, another Langlais Lab success story haha! WHO NEEDS FUNDING WHEN YOU'RE PUMPING OUT AWESOME TRAINEES! Anay, you are officially a Langlais Lab graduate, an esteemed group indeed.
Skylar Batty - 2019 - 2022
2019 - Welcome Skylar! Skylar, unlike myself at her age , has an actual vision for her future......SCIENCE! Skylar comes to the Langlais Lab via a circuitous route. Having an interest in medicine entering college, Skylar soon became aware of a whole new world, biomedical research, and was immediately intrigued. So much so that she sought an answer to "what the hell is a lab anyway?". Through a bit of "it's all who you know" Skylar found her way to the Langlais Lab the first semester of her Sophmore year (2019). After a bit of time spent learning the basics of basic research, Skylar switched her major to Molecular & Cellular Biology and decided to perform her Honor's Thesis with the Langlais Lab. Skylar is currently quaratining at home on a fenced in porch in Kansas, but will soon be back to enter the Undergraduate Biology Reseaerch Program (UBRP) with the Langlais Lab for the 2020 summer. Skylar, along with Atley, are the first undergrad Honor's Thesis students to join the Langlais Lab.
Spring 2022 - UPDATE - Skylar was an undergrad post-doc by the time she graduated in the Spring of 2022. She is off to the races to get a PhD at UCSD starting in the fall of 2022.
Atley Moberly - 2019 - 2022
2019 - Welcome Atley! I'm pretty sure at some point, I'll be working for Atley. Atley, like her contemporary Skylar, is the future of America. Atley comes to the Langlais Lab through a recommendation from a friend who had met me during a Physiology Undergraduate Speed-Dating event aimed at pairing undergraduates with research opportunities. Atley has a GPA of 10.6 I think, and volunteers for about 137 charitable organizations. She is vice-president of something too, i know that. Atley is in a sorority with 900 other over-acheivers as well. Atley would like to pursue a career in medicine and chose the Langlais Lab in the first semester of her Sophomore year (2019) because of her interest in diabetes. After a bit of time learning the ropes, Atley went all-in and decided to perform her Honor's Thesis with the Langlais Lab. Atley is currently quarantining in the mecca of Mesa, but will soon be back to enter the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) with the Langlais Lab for the 2020 summer. Atley, along with Skylar, are the first undergrad Honor's Thesis students to join the Langlais Lab.
Spring 2022 - UPDATE - Just like Skylar, Atley is an undergrad post-doc now. A weathered veteran of the bench who snarls at new recruits and drinks their milkshakes. We got Atley for just a bit longer before she's outta here to continue her persuit to become an Endocrinologist. Or maybe she'll stay with the Langlais Lab....FOREVER. Like DeHaven. And Mac. And James. And Natalie. And that other James. All of 'em, still with me, in spirit, and I text them randomly, just to keep them feeling guilty for leaving.
Summer 2022 - UPDATE - 3 years come, 3 years go, and just like that, Atley, who had shown up to the Langlais Lab as a teenager, leaves as a young adult with a degree in hand . Can't say enough good things about Atley, she is already missed. Atley is taking a leap year with the hopes of getting into medical school starting in the fall of 2023. She'll be just fine out there.....
Summer 2023 - UPDATE - Accepted to medical school. Bingo.
Jake Nash - 2022 - 2023
Spring 2022 - The Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) here at the UA offers undergraduates the opportunity to intern in research labs (see Skylar and Atley on over in the Langlais Lab Alumni page). Who knows why, but, Jake Nash, upon getting accepted to UBRP, reached out with an interest in performing his UBRP summer internship in the Langlais Lab. I can only assume all the other labs were full. Jake, a junior, hails from near Fountain Hills up in Phoenix where he grew up dreaming of playing in the NBA, only to realize that he had reached his peak on his middle school junior varsity basketball team. Jake is the first student in the Langlais Lab to get detention from blowing off the basics. After four days of D-Hall, Jake emerged with a better understanding of the Langlais Lab, so he took that newfound knowledge and parlayed it into performing the worst glucose uptake assay that I have ever seen. In true underdog form, Jake, determined to succeed, stayed on the grind and through his hard work, earned himself a spot in the Langlais Lab. In his spare time, Jake, who never gave up playing basketball, enjoys swatting jabronis' garbage deep into the bleachers over at the Rec Center. Jake, let's go discover something before I get fired.
UPDATE Spring 2024 - Jake ran out of time. He had to bail from the Langlais Lab right before he was about to start the last semester of his senior year, he had too many important classes he needed to take. It's a shame too, Jake ended up being really good at this. Jake will be taking a gap year after he graduates and plans on applying for medical school with the hopes of starting Fall 2025. We already miss him.
Tahlia Peper - 2022 - 2023
Fall 2023 - Now, as you know, students come, students go, and in order to keep the roster on point, we gotta recruit. Madi, now a grizzled veteran of the Langlais Lab, took on recruitment, as in, one night within some gargantuan party posse, struck up a convo with a completely oblivous freshman and disovered a shared love of SCIENCE. Madi seized the opportunity and WELCOME TAHLHIHEIA! Tahlia didn't know it, but that wonderful college night was about to turn into a four year commitment of college hell, i.e. the Langlais Lab experience. Unfortunately for Tahlia, or fortunately, depends on your opinion on the Langlais Lab, Tahlia couldn't spend much time initially on the bench because of the black plague that infected every single cell culture for the entire Spring 2023 semester. Fortunately, or unfortunately, again, depends on how much of your soul the Langlais Lab can suck away, she finally got the chance to get to work starting her sophmore year. I can report that so far, Tahlia has the best first time glucose uptake data I have ever seen. Could she have the Madi Gackle-like golden hands? When she's not crying in the lab because this sucks, Tahlia enjoys playing tennis but little does she know ol' Dr. Langlais would woop her up on the court because he was Varsity tennis in highschool, she also likes doing other stuff but I'm too lazy to check out the email she sent explaining stuff she likes to do. OK, Tahlia will be with us her whole damn college career so let's get to work transforming this young limitless student into a fully functional business take of carerer! WELCOME TAHLIA! Wait a minute, I just realized what was in the e-mail Tahlia sent, and it's important. Tahlia is the first of the Langlais Lab members who does not want to go to med school or grad school or none of that, Tahlia want to go to get accepted to a physicians assistant program after college. That my friends is different, so, it'll be cool learning about all the steps a student has to take in order to be successful in that career path. I have heard that getting in is just as hard as medical school. Let's watch.....
UPDATE Spring 2024 - Tahlia switched majors on us, that's right, she has gone to the world of Pyschology. Too bad, she was doing well on the bench. Good luck out there Thalia.
Noah Riojas - 2022 - 2023
Spring 2022 - Noah is another undergraduate that was snared by the net Atley had cast out when she went on a recruiting spree for the next generation of Langlais Lab trainees. Like every other freggin' UA undergrad that joins the Langlais Lab, Noah is an elite student, except this young buck is next-level, as in, a full-ride academic scholarship. Who even does that. I know I didn't. I'm pretty sure Texas Tech University read my college application in 1993 and responded with a "well, sure, we're taking everyone else, why not". Noah, again, like 99% of the undergraduate overachievers that join my lab, wants to be an MD. I can't steer these excellent students towards the wonderful world of failing at experiments day in, day out. It's becoming more and more obvious that maybe if I design experiments that actually work, I'd have better luck at contributing to the Future Researchers of America talent pool. In his spare time, Noah enjoys riding his skateboard and getting hit by cars, getting bacterial infections, and trying to convince himself that buying fried chicken from Cane's is a better investment than paying for Fantasy Football. DUMB.
WELCOME NOAH, I HOPE YOU'RE NOT SCREWING UP YOUR GLUCOSE UPTAKE ASSAY RIGHT NOW.
Spring 2023 - Sayonara Noah Rojas! They come and they go, and Noah wasted no time with either. Showed up, kicked ass, then bailed as soon as he possibly could. I mean, he graduated, so, you know, who can blame him? Apparently people go to Europe and vacation after they graduate, i'm hearing a lot of this lately. I didn't go to Europe, but, I did go fly fishing in Missouri. What's next for fresh-out-of-college Noah, what's a 22-year-old do when they graduate college and get a year break before trying to get into medical school? What they all do, become a scribe, whatever the hell that is. Anyway, Noah did really well, the Langlais Lab was lucky to have him, even if it was only for a year. As a matter of fact, Noah has already visited the lab afterwards, an often promised but seldom occuring event that the Langlais Lab trainees all seem to go through, so check out Noah!!!