HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville is inviting the public to celebrate its 15-year anniversary throughout 2023.

The Institute’s grand opening took place on National DNA Day, April 25, 2008, which commemorates the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953 and the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003.

The Institute’s unique model as a nonprofit institute dedicated to developing and applying scientific advances to health, agriculture, education and commercialization, set by founders Jim Hudson and the late Lonnie McMillian, guided HudsonAlpha since it first opened its doors.

“Lonnie and I wanted to create something that had never been done before,” Hudson said. “We wanted educators talking to researchers, researchers talking to entrepreneurs, and everybody working together in one space.”

To commemorate the anniversary, HudsonAlpha will host a variety of public activities including a year-long speaker series, an exhibit in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Huntsville, and other special events. All of the 15th-anniversary events are free and open to the public.

Guests will also notice that the HudsonAlpha campus will be decorated in blue and gold to celebrate the Institute’s 15th anniversary.

“As one of the earliest employees hired by Jim and Lonnie, I’ve been fortunate to participate in phenomenal growth over the last 15 years,” said Neil Lamb, Ph.D., institute president. “In keeping with our co-founders’ vision, HudsonAlpha is a thriving bioscience ecosystem where genomics-based research, entrepreneurship and educational outreach combine to improve the human condition around the globe.”

In addition to the planned events, the HudsonAlpha Foundation has launched the Innovation Fund campaign to allow the community to financially support the institute’s mission. Funds raised in the campaign will be put to immediate use supporting five key pillars of innovation: talent, technology, seeding, scaling and training, to propel HudsonAlpha into the next 15 years and beyond.

The speaker series, sponsored by Avilution, will feature guests from a variety of disciplines, ranging from education to genomic medicine to biodiversity. Speakers include Hudson; Doug Phillips, host of the Emmy-award-winning Alabama Public Television show Discovering Alabama; and acclaimed geneticist Mary-Claire King.

In addition to the anniversary events, the HudsonAlpha campus, in partnership with the City of Huntsville, will host The Bias Inside Us, an exhibition and community engagement project from the Smithsonian. The self-guided exhibit explores the social science, psychology and consequences of implicit bias and offers an opportunity to learn how to challenge bias in the world through awareness of one’s own bias. The exhibition will be on display in HudsonAlpha’s flagship building from April 24 to May 20. More information and the schedule for other events will be coming soon.