How a student’s early exposure to science through HudsonAlpha’s Educational Outreach programs sparked a lifelong passion, and how she’s now mentoring the next generation to build their own confidence and careers in STEM
Science was always a part of life for Dana Indihar, PhD. As a child, she was fascinated by nature and could never get enough facts about why the world was the way it was. To help foster her curiosity, Dana’s mother often enrolled her in science-themed summer camps. When Dana attended a HudsonAlpha middle school summer camp, she felt like her passion for science and her career goals aligned for the first time.
Wearing a lab coat, being in a teaching lab modeled like a real professional lab, holding a pipette for the first time, and conducting experiments with glowing bacteria lit a spark in her and helped her develop STEM identity.
“That camp was my first introduction to what I call real science,” Dana says. “Probably the coolest part to me as a baby scientist was I got to hold a pipette for the first time. From there I just fell in love with science and knew I wanted to go into science as a career.”
After earning her doctorate in microbiology in 2024, Dana is an assistant professor of microbiology and virology at Alabama A&M University (AAMU). She credits her early STEM exposure at HudsonAlpha with giving her the skills and confidence to grow her academic career.
“There were a lot of skills that came back that I learned at HudsonAlpha,” Dana recalls. “I could already hold a pipette and I was able to really quickly do some of the experiments and have lots of confidence.”
Today, Dana has come full circle and is part of the HudsonAlpha community as a mentor in the CODE (Characterizing Our DNA Exceptions) program. Through CODE, she helps students at AAMU explore the world of bioinformatics, an area she believes is “the future of biological sciences.” Dana sees CODE as more than just a program. To her, it’s a launchpad to meaningful research and fulfilling careers.
“Giving these students the opportunity to engage in informatics-based research is amazing,” said Dana. “That’s my goal, to inspire students to pursue STEM careers and also make them competitive for those careers.”
Dana’s story is a reflection of the lasting impact of STEM education. From introducing students to hands-on science, to creating programs like CODE that prepare students for tomorrow’s careers, HudsonAlpha is committed to cultivating confidence and curiosity at every stage through its STEM-focused Educational Outreach programs. And for Dana, it all started with a lab coat, a pipette, and the realization that she belonged in science.
