News
New PI at the Charles Tanford Protein Centre
Dr. Michael Böttcher has accepted a position as Junior Professor (tenure track) for Molecular Medicine of Signal Transduction at the Medical Faculty and started his work in the CTP in April. Dr. Böttcher obtained a degree in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Freiburg in 2005, but then switched to cancer research. Having obtained his PhD from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, he continued as a postdoc, first at the DKFZ and later at the University of California in San Francisco. From 2017, he worked as a senior scientist at the Max Planck Institutes for Molecular Genetics and for Infection Biology in Berlin. His current research focusses on the development and application of CRISPR-based gene perturbation technologies to define the genetic networks that drive cancer. The long-term goal is to open up new treatment avenues for therapy-resistant cancer patients. The members of the CTP welcome Dr. Böttcher and wish him the best of luck in establishing his group.
Prof. Sacha Baginsky
Our colleague Professor Sacha Baginsky, Charles Tanford Protein Centre and Chair of Plant Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, has accepted the Chair of Plant Biochemistry at the University of Bochum, which he took up on April 1, 2019. The members of the CTP wish him good luck. The vacant Chair of Plant Biochemistry in Halle has been advertised.
Prof. Andrea Sinz
Our colleague Professor Andrea Sinz, Charles Tanford Protein Centre and Chair of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Institute of Pharmacy, has turned down an offer from the University of Frankfurt for a chair of Pharmaceutical Analytics and decided to stay in Halle. Prof. Sinz is a pioneer in the analysis of protein structures by mass spectrometry and is speaker of the DFG-funded Research Training Group 2467 "Intrinsically Disordered Proteins – Molecular Principles, Cellular Functions, and Diseases". The members of the CTP are looking forward to a continued collaboration with her.
November 2018: Funding for new Research Training Group RTG 2467 "Intrinsically Disordered Proteins – Molecular Principles, Cellular Functions, and Diseases" (Speaker Prof. Dr. Andrea Sinz) granted by the DFG
Approximately 40% of amino acid sequences in higher eukaryotes are predicted to be intrinsically disordered (intrinsically disordered proteins, IDPs and intrinsically disordered regions, IDRs) lacking defined structural elements. Many of these flexible proteins and protein regions remain understudied. This is despite their importance in regulating fundamental biological processes and in the generation of dynamic architectural superstructures, including, e.g., membrane-less organelles.
IDPs/IDRs will be investigated by an interdisciplinary group of research scientists composed of biochemists, biophysicists, and cell biologists. Their complementary scientific backgrounds will enable studies ranging from the in vitro characterization of IDPs/IDRs to their investigation within cells. A major focus will be the study of IDP/IDR interactions with proteins as well as RNA. All of the planned RTG projects address key questions on the molecular processes that govern how a single IDP/IDR might adopt multiple conformations upon protein- or RNA-binding.
November 2018: ERC President Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Bourgignon visits the Charles-Tanford-Proteinzentrum
On Tuesday 6th November, the President of the European Research Council (ERC) Jean-Pierre Bourguignon visited the Proteinzentrum to meet with ERC grant holders from Sachsen-Anhalt. After receiving a short introduction to the history of protein science in Halle and the establishment of the Proteinzentrum, Prof. Bourguignon and ERC grant holders toured the labs of ZIK HALOmem group leaders Carla Schmidt and Panagiotis Kastritis, followed by the Core Facility Imaging (Nadine Bley). He went on to visit both the Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik with Stuart Parkin and the Leopoldina, where a podium discussion on ERC funding opportunities and experiences was held.
