Pleiner lab
October 2023
The Pleiner Lab is always looking for motivated scientist to join our growing team. Reach out to inquire about positions.
Stanford graduate students please reach out to Tino to discuss rotation projects! Prospective graduate students: Please apply to the Stanford Bioscience program.
You
Tino Pleiner
Principal Investigator.
Tino was born in the small town Zeitz near Leipzig in East Germany. Tino is a First Generation college graduate. He studied biochemistry and molecular biology in Leipzig and Göttingen, Germany. Tino holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Göttingen, Germany, where he did his lab work at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences with Dirk Görlich. He then escaped the rainy weather in Göttingen for a postdoc with Rebecca Voorhees at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
Outside of the lab Tino enjoys the natural beauty of California. He likes the outdoors and is a proud houseplant dad and photographer. Check the "Community/Living in California" tab for some of his images.
Research Assistant (LSRP1)
Marinda is from Southern Oregon and received her bachelor’s from Willamette University and her master’s from the University of Idaho. She just started in the Pleiner lab in the summer of 2023. In her free time, Marinda enjoys crocheting, playing board games with friends, and walks with her dog!
Marinda Stanton
Lulu Ramirez Cervantes
RA1 and Operations Support Specialist.
Lulu was born in Mexico City, raised in San Jose, California. She received her B.S. in Science from SCU. Lulu has been at Stanford SoM since 2017 and is a member of MCP's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) cabinet. Lulu enjoys traveling and exploring new places with her husband and children.
Graduate Student
Caroline is from southeast Michigan and received her bachelor's from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she studied cellular and molecular biology, as well as pediatric epilepsies. She has lived in various places in Michigan, Germany, and now sunny California! She is a second-year grad student in MCP. In her free time you can find her in nature, thrifting, trying new restaurants, volunteering, or playing with her two cats!
Caroline Scheuing
Maya Biswal
Postdoctoral Scholar
Maya was raised in Mumbai, India. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UC Riverside, where she conducted her research in Dr. Jikui Song’s lab. Maya joined the Pleiner lab in July 2024 to investigate the mechanism of membrane protein biogenesis. During her free time, Maya enjoys hiking and traveling. She loves exploring new places with her husband.
Baira Godneeva
Postdoc
(Incoming - Fall 2024)
Kyle Trinh
Rotating MCP Graduate student
ADVANCE Summer Institute graduate student
​I hail from the beautiful country of Vietnam in Southeast Asia. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University. During my undergraduate career, I conducted research at my home institution, as well as at UofM and Rockefeller, focusing on membrane-related biological processes including drug metabolism, mechanosensation, ion transport, and membrane protein targeting. Beyond my enormous passion for biosciences, I also find pleasure in plane spotting and spending time with friends.
Rotating MCP Graduate Student
Samantha grew up in a small town about an hour outside of Denver, Colorado and received her B.S. in biology from a small liberal arts college, Colorado Christian University, in 2023. During her undergraduate she worked in a lab at CU Anschutz Medical Center. Some of her favorite activities outside of the lab are hiking, crocheting, reading, and her cat Machiavelli!
Samantha Johnson
Emotional support
Occasionally checks in on the lab and its members. Always up for cuddles.
Tofu
Lab alumni:
2024 Mansi Vasishtha (Lab manager)