Notable graduates: Abdalla Saad — On the cusp of new biotech startup

Many scientists are content to spend their entire careers in the laboratory, chasing new insights into the way the world works. Not Abdalla Saad. Though he admires the scientists he works with as a research specialist in the School of Medicine and Public Health, Saad has dreams of launching a biotechnology company some day.

With expertise gained through the Master of Science in Biotechnology Program, the aspiring entrepreneur is now taking a major step toward his goal. Based on technologies developed by three UW-Madison professors, Saad is writing a business plan for a company that would market a better delivery system for drugs ranging from volatile anesthetics to anti-cancer agents.

He hopes to finish his plan and begin showing to investors by summer's end. If the business gets off the ground, it will join five others that have spun out of the Master of Science in Biotechnology program during the past five years.

"That's what I like about UW-Madison," says Saad. "There's strong promotion of entrepreneurship and help for students who want to start companies."