What a perfect day for a genome walk!
That was just one of the activities that attracted hundreds of people to the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology for DNA Day Monday. National DNA Day, held April 25, commemorates both the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the day in 1953 that James Watson and Francis Crick published an article describing the structure of DNA.
HudsonAlpha’s educational outreach team has hosted DNA Day since the institute opened its doors in 2008. This year’s event was held in the recently opened McMillian Park on the Cummings Research Park Biotech Campus and centered around the larger-than-life double helix walkway. For the genome walk, participants followed a variety of genomic pathways explaining mechanisms in health and human disease.
“When I got past the Gs and the Cs, I was alright,” said Charles Smith, a Huntsville resident who has attended HudsonAlpha’s Biotech courses. “It’s a nice excuse to get out of the office and a great day to take a nice walk.” Smith was referencing the As, Cs, Ts and Gs forming DNA base pairs.
After the outdoor activities, the event moved inside to the Jackson Center. Neil Lamb, Ph.D., director of educational outreach, presented his Top Ten List of Biotech Headlines and was followed by Rick M. Myers, Ph.D., HudsonAlpha president and director, who gave the state of the institute address.
“Today provided a wonderful debut of the park for the community,” said Holly Ralston, director of communications at HudsonAlpha. “The double helix paths create a singular setting to communicate the complexities of human health and disease while promoting outdoors activities. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama, is the cornerstone of the Cummings Research Park Biotechnology Campus. The campus hosts a synergistic cluster of life sciences talent – science, education and business professionals – that promises collaborative innovation to turn knowledge and ideas into commercial products and services for improving human health and strengthening Alabama’s progressively diverse economy.
The non-profit institute is housed in a state-of-the-art, 270,000 square-ft. facility strategically located in the nation’s second largest research park. HudsonAlpha has a three-fold mission of genomic research, economic development and educational outreach. To help advance HudsonAlpha’s mission, you can make a secure online donation by clicking here.
