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GRADUATE SCHOOL Order of Exercises
December 21, 2022
PROCESSIONAL
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Pomp and Circumstance
The National Anthem Vocals Performed by Nicole Okundaye ’22
OPENING
Susan McDonough
Grand Marshal
PRESIDING
Valerie Sheares Ashby President
GREETINGS
Michelle A. Gourdine
Board of Regents
University System of Maryland
Philip J. Rous
Provost
Janet C. Rutledge
Vice Provost and Dean Graduate School
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES
Mustafa Al-Adhami, M.S. ‘15, Ph.D. ‘20
Chief Executive Officer, Astek Diagnostics
PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES
Philip J. Rous
Janet C. Rutledge
CONCLUDING REMARKS
UMBC ALMA MATER (see back page)
RECESSIONAL
Mustafa Al-Adhami is the founder and CEO of Astek Diagnotics, a medical device company building technology for rapid antibiotic sensitivity testing. He is a scientist and inventor focused on developing low-cost solutions for global public health problems. Born and raised in Iraq, he moved to the Baltimore area to attend UMBC, where he obtained an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Al-Adhami completed his research at UMBC’s CAST lab with Dr. Marc Zupan as his thesis advisor. In 2019, Al-Adhami won the national Three-Minute Thesis competition sponsored by the Council of Graduate Schools. His winning topic was rapid detection of bacteria in blood. AlAdhami developed a rapid bacterialdetection test that can assess, within an hour, if a patient has an infection. It can also help physicians determine which specific antibiotics should be administered to help fight the infection. Al-Adhami’s device, Jiddu , costs a
Commencement Speaker
fraction of the price of the current antibiotic susceptibility test and takes only an hour to generate testing results. Its goal is to reduce the duration of hospital stays and reduce antibiotic resistance by avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use.
The device is the basis for his company Astek Diagnostics, which started in Al-Adhami’s basement in 2020 and has grown to a team of six at the University of Maryland BioPark. Their first product is expected to receive FDA clearance in 2024.
Al-Adhami was recently honored with the Baltimore Business Journal 's 40 Under 40 award. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and son where they support a variety of charitable causes including nonprofits focused on children’s healthcare and animal welfare.
