City infuses $20 million into genomic research

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Dothan city commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to appropriate more than $20 million to cutting-edge research.

“This may be the top thing that we’ve ever done in the city of Dothan,” said Commissioner Gantt Pierce.

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, based in Huntsville, announced in August that it planned a satellite office in Dothan.

That location will use genomic research on Alabama peanuts to create a new variety of drought- and disease-resistant crops, and recruit agriculture tech start-up companies.

“Taking ideas and scientific research and turning them into jobs and commercialization,” is among benefits Dothan mayor Mark Saliba expects from HudsonAlpha.

The $20,600,000 that commissioners appropriated will be paid in quarterly installments.

“I would expect that we will return that money and more in the next five years,” the mayor predicted.

For Saliba, this is personal because his belief is the project propels Dothan to among the most lucrative regions of Alabama for technology and business development.

His pursuit of HudsonAlpha began last year, though he had long been impressed with the growing operation.

“I called them,” he chuckled on Tuesday.

It’s a call that appears to have paid off handsomely.

While it will take years for the Dothan location reach its pinnacle, HudsonAlpha’s growth in north Alabama over 15 years has been nothing short of remarkable.

“The Huntsville campus now has over 1100 (employees), a dozen research labs, more than 50 biotechnology companies, and an education program that reaches over a million individuals,” said Dr. Neil Lamb, HudsonAlpha president.

The Dothan startup currently operates in a temporary location with Dean Mitchell at the helm.

Mitchell is the former Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.

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