It was the language of life sciences and cybersecurity: honeypots, hackathon, DNA and the like that are part of the lingo in the world of biology, anatomy, astrobiology and biotechnology.

More directly, it was the tongue of genomics — a broader study compared to its cousin genetics — when high school and college students joined professionals for the eighth HATCH Challenge on the campus of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biology.

HATCH, an acronym for the HudsonAlpha Tech Challenge, was held at the Propst Center in early March. The high school students formed one group and took on a team of college students/professionals.

Also known as the “HATCH hackathon,’’ it introduced students to genomics, and provided an opportunity for all participants to learn new skills, network with other professionals in their field and gain recognition for their work.

“It’s not quite a hackathon, but it has the spirit of a hackathon in that participants have one day to basically tackle the challenge,’’ HudsonAlpha Economic Development Marketing Coordinator and HATCH marketer Abbie Ruesy said.

Participants select one of three challenge options, which are revealed a week prior to the competition. The hackathon itself usually lasts for about 14 hours.

“But,’’ Rousey said, “it’s meant to be ‘you come here, do your project, you create some sort of software or some sort of framework that you then present at what’s kind of an exhibition.’ ’’

Tyler Clark, an economic development specialist and the HATCH lead, said challenge ideas arise from everyday operations. Contestants then work for solutions through business strategy, software development and technology.

“So we take problems that we see here at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, the problems that we see in the greater biotech industry,’’ Clark said. “We simplify those down a little bit and put those in front of students, college students, high schoolers and young professionals, and let them essentially have a shot at those challenges over the course of the day.’’

The hackathon started nine years ago (one year was lost to the Covid-19 pandemic) as a means of engaging the biotech and bio computer science workforce in Huntsville and developing that workforce.

“It also gives students the chance to put something on their resume or a college application, or in their portfolio as they’re building their skill sets as a programmer or a coder,’’ Ruesy said.

Challenge No. 1: Securing Genomic Data

“Protecting genomic data,’’ Clark said. “How can we use that data for research while also protecting the privacy of individuals?’’

Protecting genome data is a top priority at the Propst Center, home to HudsonAlpha’s Bio Cybersecurity Lab, which specializes in safeguarding biological and biomedical systems against cyber threats. It’s also where another example of HudsonAlpha’s community outreach was born when an exercise called “find the flag’’ was designed for students at the Alabama School for Cyber Technology and Engineering.

“We want to try and help train the next generation of cyber experts as well as scientists,’’ said Scott Ross, IT Director. “So combining some of this with things that already exist out there that our educational outreach group is doing is a mission we really feel passionate about and educating in general.’’

Some highlights from the video presentation of lab points of interest:

DNA research – Now more than ever, individuals’ DNA is becoming an integral part of everyday life, playing a key role in advancing cutting-edge research to tackle some of the most challenging problems, such as brain diseases and cancer.
Safeguards – Protecting data and patient privacy starts with the people working in the lab or coding the systems used to process and share data securely.
Beyond humans – DNA includes all living things like plants and livestock.
Agriculture – Growing in importance for food sustainability and helping genetically engineer the best product for consumers from farm to table.
Broader bioeconomy – Includes some of the most complex and largest supply chains.

Challenge No. 2: Biosurveillance

“We’re also looking at how we can predict zoonotic disease outbreaks,’’ Clark said. “Say when a disease transfers from a bird or a cattle to a human – how can we predict when those are likely to happen and where they will happen?’’

Challenge No. 3: Microscope Vision Challenge

“How can we use microscope vision to analyze an image and detect diseases or detect different types of cells,’’ Clark said.

He added, “All three of these areas we think are very, very important for the future of humanity. We also think that these are great things to be taken further as well to potentially a business or a research project. That’s what HATCH is essentially.’’

Conclusion

Genomics is the study of genetics. While the latter is the study of individual genes, the former studies genetics but as a complete set of genes in an organism.

“It may sound kind of like going in a loop, but we have to think of it almost like a diary that holds all your most personal secrets,’’ Clark said. “You can tell you about your predisposition to certain diseases. It can tell you about intricate family relationships. It can tell you really everything about yourself.

“So this is information that is incredibly powerful and can be used for research to better the human condition, but can also be used maliciously, which is something that we work very, very hard to create solutions to avoid.’’

Sounds like a challenge.