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Registration is open for HudsonAlpha’s Annual Double Helix Dash

The April 5K and 1-mile twilight run benefits childhood genetic disorder research and the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine. 

HUNTSVILLE (January 22, 2025) – HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology will host its 14th annual Double Helix Dash 5K and 1-mile twilight run on April 1, at 5:30 p.m. The Double Helix Dash 5K will begin at 601 Genome Way, loop through Cummings Research Park, and return to HudsonAlpha’s campus through a scenic pathway designed to look like the double helix, the twisting ladder shape of DNA. The twilight run will begin and end in front of the Institute at 601 Genome Way. 

The Double Helix Dash is a unique mid-week race that brings together over 500 runners, walkers, and supporters from across the Huntsville community to help HudsonAlpha raise funds and awareness for the Institute’s childhood genetic disorder research programs and the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine. 

Every year, two out of every 100 children are born with an intellectual or physical disability or delay. Thousands of families in Alabama are impacted by these struggles. HudsonAlpha’s life-saving research, led by HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Greg Cooper, PhD, and his lab, help hundreds of children with these conditions to find answers to their undiagnosed diseases and enables physicians caring for these children to prescribe more effective treatments. 

The race also supports the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine, a nonprofit genetic diagnostic clinic established to diagnose patients with undiagnosed and misdiagnosed diseases. Adult and pediatric patients are seen by a clinical geneticist who evaluates their symptoms and determines whether genetic testing is appropriate. The data found from those tests is interpreted to identify variants or changes in the DNA linked to disease. 

You can find the registration for the 5K and 1-mile twilight run at haib.org/dash. Registration is available for individuals and teams, and donations in support of the race are also accepted. Prizes will be awarded after the 5K. The cost to participate is $25 for the 5K and $20 for the 1-mile twilight run if participants register for early bird pricing by March 4. Afterward, the cost for the 5K is $35 and $20 for the 1-mile run. All proceeds benefit HudsonAlpha’s childhood genetic disorder research programs and the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine. 

About HudsonAlpha

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using genomics to improve life through developing and applying scientific advances to health, agriculture, learning and commercialization. The HudsonAlpha campus co-locates nonprofit scientific researchers with entrepreneurs, educators and business leaders, and is home to more than 45 diverse biotech companies. The Institute’s campus is located within the Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second-largest research park, in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 2008, HudsonAlpha is a national and international leader in genetics and genomics research and biotech and STEM education, To learn more about HudsonAlpha, visit hudsonalpha.org.