Katie Lovelady is a 21-year-old business development specialist at CerFlux, Inc. and co-founder of Forever Kate.
What's your background?
I have been living in Birmingham since fall 2019 when I started attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham studying industrial distribution. At 16 years old I co-founded a women's clothing boutique called Forever Kate in my hometown of Hartselle, Alabama. Over the past five years, Forever Kate has grown from my family's basement to two brick-and-mortar locations. Our mission is to empower other young women and end the food scarcity crisis in Hartselle by working with a local food pantry.
Currently, I work as a business development specialist for CerFlux, Inc., a cancer biotech startup in Birmingham. CerFlux is striving to end ineffective cancer therapy through their personalized tumor-driven treatments, clinical trials and therapeutic discovery. For context, three out of four cancer patients receive ineffective systemic therapy. CerFlux is on a mission to flip this statistic.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment has been my ability to make a difference through my work. Whether that is improving cancer treatment for millions, helping families feel confident that they will have food on their table or my work on a public health project between UAB and the Clinton Global Initiative University to raise awareness for preventative cancer measures in rural Kenya. I feel fulfilled through my work knowing that I am helping others.
What is Birmingham doing right to foster innovation?
Birmingham does a phenomenal job fostering life science innovation through its collaborative environment and resources for startups. Organizations such as EDPA and the Alabama Launchpad, Innovate Alabama, Breast Cancer Research Foundation for Alabama, Birmingham Business Journal, BIO Alabama and many more all provide continuous support to the startup community. Through the support of this community, we will start to see many life-saving therapies and medical devices develop out of Birmingham.
