The code below shows how to highlight the 'attr1' column with 'ge' string set to red color.
<script>
function formatAttr(value){
var v = value.replace(/ge/g,'<span style="color:red">ge</span>');
return v;
}
</script>
<th data-options="field:'attr1',formatter:formatAttr,width:250,editor:'text'">Attribute</th>