Professor Elmar Wahle and Professor Milton Stubbs have just spent a number of strenuous months. The two protein researchers lead two of the 14 research groups that have recently moved into the new Charles Tanford Protein Centre on the Weinberg Campus.

Previously the researchers were spread across five different locations in Halle. Not every moving box has been unpacked and every cabinet completely filled. But scientific life is already running again at full speed: In the laboratories, cell cultures are being prepared, samples are being taken and evaluated and protein structures are being investigated using X-ray equipment and mass spectrometers.

The Protein Centre has a floor space of around 5,400 square metres, spread out over four floors - space for 255 employees in 125 laboratories and 62 offices. All of the building’s technical systems – ventilation, extraction and filter units, as well as many other devices – are located on the roof of the Protein Centre, hidden behind sound barriers.

The building is in the shape of a cuboid, with the long sides offset from one another. The laboratories are located on the outer sides and the offices on the inner sides. The two building complexes are connected by several interconnecting corridors and a central staircase. This keeps distances between the office desk and the lab bench as short as possible. “My laboratories used to be spread across several floors. Now everything is close at hand and I am able to quickly exchange information with my colleagues,” says a satisfied Milton Stubbs. The professor of physical biotechnology is the Protein Centre’s spokesperson who acts as a link between the research groups, the university and the outside world.

The research building is a place of interdisciplinary cooperation. The scientists not only contribute their specialist knowledge about the properties of certain proteins, they are also experts in special research methods. Elmar Wahle is well aware that this knowledge about methodology will become increasingly important in the future. “Scientific journals are increasingly demanding that new studies consist of a combination of different methods. That’s why we depend on the exchange of knowledge.” He now almost only publishes studies that have been developed in cooperation with other research groups.

The idea of joint cooperation is also reflected in the Protein Centre’s two ‘core facilities’ which are service facilities. ‘Imaging’ is a core facility that offers a variety of imaging technologies for analysing samples. These include high-resolution laser microscopy and infrared scanners. In the core facility ‘proteomic mass spectrometry’, which is currently still under development, researchers can use mass spectrometers to investigate proteins and their structures. The idea behind it is that not every research group needs to operate its own equipment. Instead, some devices can be used jointly. This saves money, space and valuable time, because not everyone has to learn everything from scratch.

The Protein Centre has raised the level of Halle’s protein research. It is clear that this should bear fruit, for example new third-party funded projects and publications in high-ranking journals. However, Stubbs and Wahle are taking a laid-back approach and do not want to raise expectations too much too quickly. Currently, Milton Stubbs regards his role as a spokesperson more in providing opportunities for professional exchange, for example through an open series of seminars. Research and cooperation take time and the work of the research groups in the new Protein Centre has only just begun.