If you're using .NET 3.5 SP1+ the better way to do this is to take a look at the
System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement namespace.
It has methods to find people and you can pretty much pass in any username format you want and then returns back most of the basic information you would need. If you need help on loading the more complex objects and properties check out the source code for http://umanage.codeplex.com its got it all.
Brent