HudsonAlpha Breaks New Ground with Campus Expansion

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is the epicenter of ground-breaking work in biotechnology and genomics.

In keeping with that image, it hosted a rather unique ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion of its campus. Not only was it masked and socially distant, but it also took place inside the Propst Center with the participants each donning hard hats and grabbing a shovel.

To create the full effect, the future site was projected on a screen behind the group and there was a row of potted foliage positioned directly in front of them.

A masked crowd of 50 – including HudsonAlpha staff, elected officials and the local business and nonprofit community, joined with more than 100 more virtual attendees on Facebook Live and Zoom in the event.

The audience was treated to images of the architectural renderings by Fuqua and Partners who, with contractors Brasfield and Gorrie, will bring the vision to life. The expansion will consist of two facilities: the global headquarters for Discovery Life Sciences and a new state-of-the-art laboratory and greenhouse space for HudsonAlpha’s Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture.

“This is a significant milestone not only for HudsonAlpha, but the entire state as well,” said Carter Wells, vice president for economic development. “Through this expansion, HudsonAlpha further solidifies its leadership position and expertise in plant genomics. Additionally, Discovery Life Sciences’ choice of Huntsville for their global headquarters highlights the quality of our bioscience workforce and business environment.”

Discovery Life Sciences, an international market leader in biospecimen analysis, procurement, and distribution for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostics industries, employs more than 400 people worldwide. When complete, their 90,000 square-foot global hub will bring together all DLS’s research and development, laboratory, and business operations under one roof.

“We look forward to DLS growing its presence on HudsonAlpha’s campus,” said Jim Hudson, co-founder and chairman of the HudsonAlpha board.

The HudsonAlpha Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture will add 13,000 square feet of lab and greenhouse space. This will allow the center to better propagate and grow research plants, with the goal of improving existing crops and to develop new uses for plants.

This will also help to strengthen the existing partnerships that HudsonAlpha has with Auburn University and Alabama A&M University, as well as enhance overall productivity. In the new facility, teams will be able to advance genomics-enabled breeding pipelines for new varieties of crops, continue to maximize fuel production from plant biomass, reduce fertilizer use, and reduce or eliminate fungicides to increase grower yields.

“HudsonAlpha is one of the world’s largest genomics institutes in plant science and we collaborate with research groups everywhere to discover and then apply the discoveries to crop improvement,” said Jeremy Schmutz, co-director of HudsonAlpha’s Genome Sequence Center with Dr. Jane Grimwood. “We also will work closely with HudsonAlpha’s Educational Outreach team to attract the next generation of plant science students. These students need to be trained and inspired to go further to make an even greater impact in improving agriculture.” 

Although unable to attend in person, Gov. Kay Ivey added her words of congratulations, with the assurance that she would most certainly be present for the ribbon cutting.

“Alabama has a new accolade: global headquarters to a renowned and respected biosciences company,” said Ivey. “This will undoubtedly strengthen Alabama’s biosciences recruitment efforts and increase the economic impact to the city, state and region.”