Military veteran Catherine Davis joins HudsonAlpha Wiregrass.
DOTHAN (October 3, 2024) – HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology recently welcomed its first computational biologist to the Wiregrass campus. Catherine Davis joined HudsonAlpha last week, becoming the sixth full-time employee in Dothan.
“Research opportunities abound in the Wiregrass region, and Catherine will be an important addition to our team,” said Dr. Josh Clevenger, PhD, Faculty Investigator at HudsonAlpha. “From peanuts to timber to other crops, genetic research and the analysis of DNA is critical to continue improving crop conditions to help them grow and thrive.”
Davis will be working with Khufu, a genotyping platform designed by Drs. Josh Clevenger and Walid Korani. Davis will manage Khufu sequencing data for all HudsonAlpha Wiregrass peanut breeding sub-programs from receiving and processing. She will also work closely with Dr. Korani to deliver long-term development projects to help improve the Khufu environment and associated programs and pipelines.
“I am excited to join the HudsonAlpha Wiregrass team as its newest computational biologist,” Davis said. “I can’t wait to start working on genetic research that will help southeastAlabama and the state as a whole thrive.”
Davis will do the bulk of her work in the Clevenger Lab in the Wiregrass Innovation Center, a 45,000-square-foot facility that is scheduled to open early 2026. The Wiregrass Innovation Center will serve several major functions, including providing a home for hands-on training and practical learning in science, genomics, research, technology, and innovation and creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurs and innovators in Dothan and the Wiregrass area. HudsonAlpha Wiregrass will be the anchor tenant of the Wiregrass Innovation Center.
Davis is a military veteran who comes to HudsonAlpha from Southeast Health and Flowers Hospital. Before that, she worked for the U.S. Army in several different roles, received several commendations and was named Distinguished Leader and Soldier of the Year. Davis earned her bachelor’s degree in biology/biomedical sciences and her master’s in computer science from Troy University.
About HudsonAlpha Wiregrass: The City of Dothan and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology partnered in 2022 to expand HudsonAlpha’s footprint in Dothan. HudsonAlpha Wiregrass focuses on agriculture research, economic development and genomics education. HudsonAlpha Wiregrass began operations in 2022 and will eventually be located in the Wiregrass Innovation Center in downtown Dothan, which is set to open in early 2026. For more information about HudsonAlpha Wiregrass, visit hudsonalpha.org/wiregrass.