Catalyst by Southern Research Celebrates Statewide Impact as Current Grant Concludes

As the current Catalyst grant comes to a close, new participant enrollment will end on September 30, 2026. While enrollment is ending, Southern Research will continue supporting all participants who complete the required enrollment steps by that date, including providing consent, completing the social determinants of health survey, ordering their genetic test, and connecting their health records. Southern Research will continue honoring its commitment to those participants, ensuring they receive their genetic testing results, complimentary genetic counseling, and ongoing support throughout their Catalyst experience.

As we end new participant enrollment, we’re also celebrating the extraordinary impact Catalyst has made across Alabama and thanking the participants, healthcare providers, community organizations, partners, and team members who made that impact possible.

Over the past several years, Catalyst has helped transform access to clinical genetic testing across Alabama. What began as a vision to make genetic testing more accessible grew into a statewide initiative that connected thousands of Alabamians with free clinical genetic testing, genetic counseling, and educational resources—bringing precision medicine to communities that have historically had limited access to these services.

From urban centers to rural communities, Catalyst reached participants in all 67 Alabama counties through partnerships with healthcare providers, community organizations, employers, universities, and local leaders who shared a common goal: improving health through earlier awareness and more personalized care.

This success would not have been possible without the collaboration of our participants, healthcare providers, community partners, vendors, researchers, and the dedicated Southern Research team who believed in the mission from the very beginning.

Beyond expanding access to clinical genetic testing, Catalyst demonstrated what’s possible when research, healthcare, and community come together around a shared purpose. The program strengthened partnerships across Alabama, advanced precision medicine, and created a foundation that will continue to inform future research and innovation.

In fact, Catalyst’s lasting legacy may be its role in helping position Alabama as a leader in health innovation and precision medicine through the creation of a secure research platform that supports groundbreaking studies on diseases and health challenges affecting Alabamians. By combining Catalyst data with other leading research resources at UAB, investigators at UAB and Southern Research will be able to pursue new discoveries, strengthen scientific collaboration, and accelerate the development of therapies and interventions that can improve health across our state. As this platform grows through future research efforts, it has the potential to attract new funding and investment to Alabama, expand opportunities for clinical trials, and further strengthen the state’s research and innovation ecosystem for years to come.

Although the current grant is concluding, Southern Research’s commitment to advancing science and improving health through research and innovation remains unchanged. We are incredibly proud of what Catalyst accomplished and deeply grateful to every individual and organization who helped make this program possible.

To every participant who trusted us with their health journey.

To every healthcare provider who referred a patient.

To every community organization that welcomed us into their neighborhoods.

To every partner who helped build this program.

And to every member of the Catalyst team who worked tirelessly to bring this vision to life— Thank you.

Together, we’ve shown what’s possible when research, healthcare, and community come together with a shared purpose. Although enrollment is ending, the impact of Catalyst—and the relationships, knowledge, and opportunities it created—will continue to shape the future of precision medicine in Alabama for years to come.