Christopher McCoy grew up in Johns Creek with a passion for agriculture. That interest carried him through a cum laude degree in plant biotechnology at Alabama A&M University, a 4.0 master's in health informatics at Morehouse School of Medicine, and back to metro Atlanta, where he tests some of the highest-risk medical devices on the market.

As of an Alabama A&M alumni profile highlighted by the Johns Creek Patch newsletter on July 23, McCoy was working as a research and development technician at Avanos Medical in Alpharetta. At Avanos, a medical technology company headquartered at 5405 Windward Parkway, he conducts performance and reliability testing on Class III medical devices, the highest-risk category regulated by the FDA. He also collaborates with quality assurance teams and analyzes data supporting product development.

McCoy's path from plants to patient care traces back to nearly four years of undergraduate research at Alabama A&M. He contributed to projects involving plant genetics, DNA extraction, soil analysis, greenhouse crop management, and GIS mapping of wetlands across Alabama. In 2022, he earned third place in AAMU's STEM Day competition for a research project evaluating DNA extraction methods in soil samples.

"Plant biotechnology taught me much more than laboratory science," McCoy told Alabama A&M's news office. "It helped me understand how research, data and innovation can be used to solve real-world problems. That foundation ultimately led me to health informatics, where I can use technology and data to improve healthcare."

McCoy graduated cum laude from Alabama A&M in December 2023. He then worked as a laboratory technician at Aviagen in Huntsville, Alabama, before enrolling at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he earned his Master of Science in Health Informatics with a minor in leadership.

During graduate school, McCoy served as the student government representative for the health informatics program. He participated in the Agile Clinical Trials Clinical Research Training Program at Morehouse and Grady Hospital, completed the Emory AI.Xperience program focused on healthcare artificial intelligence and governance, and served as a student ambassador at the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition, where he connected with leaders in health information technology.

McCoy's decision to attend Alabama A&M was shaped by his late mother, Renee McCoy, who worked at the university in the early 2000s. "My mother always told me she could see me attending AAMU because of my passion for agriculture," he said. "Her encouragement made Alabama A&M feel like home."