Adah Almutairi is a prominent scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur from Saudi Arabia. She was born in 1976 in in Portland, Oregon, United States to Saudi parents. Prof. Almutairi lived in Jeddah, on the coast of the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia for 9 years before moving to Los Angeles in 1996 to begin her higher education. Adah Almutairi received her education in the United States. Almutairi parents wanted her to be a doctor, but Ms Almutairi chose math as her major before switching to chemistry in her second year. The lightbulb moment came when her tutor, the widely loved chemistry professor Tetsuo Otsuki, told her she was “a diamond in the dirt”.

“He made me feel smart and capable, and worth being taught,” she says.

“I have twice been told the phrase: ‘You remind me of myself’. It is one of the nicest things you can say to a young person if they look up to you. It really sat in my heart.”

She completed her Postdoctoral Studies in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, from 2005 to 2008. At Berkeley Almutairi worked with Jean Fréchet where she developed several nanoprobes for in vivo molecular imaging. She joined the University of California, San Diego in 2008, and has been there ever since, as the director of excellence in Nanomedicine.

Preparedness forms the backbone of her professional life as she puts known scientific truths into practice while always remaining open to unexpected outcomes.

“If you decide there is going to be a challenge down the road and that is going to deter you, nothing will happen,” she says. “If you go down that road anyway, you’ll solve the problem when you get there.”

With more than 100 patents registered to her name, Adah Almutairi has been honored and awarded multiple times.

In addition to her scientific and entrepreneurial work, Adah Almutairi is also actively involved in promoting diversity and inclusion in science and technology. She is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. She is also a founding member of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission Women's Club in San Diego.

Adah Almutairi's contributions to science and entrepreneurship are truly remarkable. Her innovative work in drug delivery and imaging has the potential to revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat diseases. Her entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in science and technology are an inspiration to young scientists and entrepreneurs around the world.