Huntsville, Ala. —HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has established the HudsonAlpha Economic Development Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of thought leaders in site selection and economic development who will collaborate on strategy and action focused on the retention, expansion, and attraction of life science companies on the HudsonAlpha biotech campus and throughout North Alabama.
“The life sciences community at HudsonAlpha has drawn extraordinary bioscience talent — both in nonprofit research and in private companies — and has a proven reputation of fostering startups and spinouts, as well as a market for established life sciences companies seeking to expand,” said Erin Koshut, director of Cummings Research Park.
“In a short time, HudsonAlpha has proven to be an ideal location for new and expanding bioscience companies,” said Carter Wells, vice president for economic development at HudsonAlpha. “Bringing together this group of prominent leaders in economic development will continue to foster life sciences growth in North Alabama and across the region.
Committee members include:
- Anne Burkett, Director, North Alabama International Trade Association and Director, Madison County Planning and Economic Development
- Cindy Burns, Vice President, North Alabama Industrial Development Association (NAIDA)
- Ted Clem, Director of Business Development, Department of Commerce, State of Alabama
- Harrison Diamond, Business Relations Officer, City of Huntsville, Alabama
- Will Hearn, Senior Vice President, CBRE; Site Selectors Guild
- Jim Hudson, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
- Erin Koshut, Director of Cummings Research Park, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
- Spencer Sessions, Target Market Specialist, Tennessee Valley Authority Economic Development
- Carter Wells, Vice President for Economic Development, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
The committee held their first meeting Jan. 25 and discussed ways to build on the success of HudsonAlpha’s biotech campus and reputation as the prime location to work alongside peers and successfully bring biotech discoveries to market.
About HudsonAlpha: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit institute dedicated to innovating in the field of genomic technology and sciences across a spectrum of biological challenges. Opened in 2008, its mission is four-fold: sparking scientific discoveries that can impact human health and well-being; bringing genomic medicine into clinical care; fostering life sciences entrepreneurship and business growth; and encouraging the creation of a genomics-literate workforce and society. The HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus consists of 152 acres nestled within Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park. Designed to be a hothouse of biotech economic development, HudsonAlpha’s state-of-the-art facilities co-locate nonprofit scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators. The relationships formed on the HudsonAlpha campus encourage collaborations that produce advances in medicine and agriculture. Under the leadership of Dr. Richard M. Myers, a key collaborator on the Human Genome Project, HudsonAlpha has become a national and international leader in genetics and genomics research and biotech education, and includes more than 30 diverse biotech companies on campus. To learn more about HudsonAlpha, visit: http://hudsonalpha.org/.
