Academician Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail

Recipient of Outstanding Contribution to Science, Technology & Innovation 2026

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Building Bridges from Knowledge to Impact

For Academician Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail, science has never ended with discovery.

Throughout four decades of service, she has worked on a larger question, how can knowledge move from the laboratory into people’s lives, institutions and national development?

That question has taken her from molecular biology and infectious disease diagnostics to university leadership and eventually, national science and education policy. Along the way, she became the first woman to hold several of Malaysia’s most senior positions in higher education and scientific leadership.

As the recipient of the 2026 Merdeka Award for Outstanding Contribution to Science, Technology & Innovation, Professor Asma attributes the recognition to the researchers, students, colleagues, policymakers, institutions and family members who have been part of a shared journey to make science useful to society.

Professor Asma with some of her students.

When Science Meets Human Need

Professor Asma’s fascination with biology began with curiosity about the complexity of life.

She studied Biology at the University of Nevada before pursuing postgraduate training in microbiology and completing her PhD in cellular and molecular biology in 1986.

Returning to Malaysia, she encountered a practical public health problem. Typhoid fever continued to affect communities, yet conventional diagnosis could be slow and difficult to access, especially in resource-constrained settings.

Professor Asma and her team began looking for a better way. Their research identified a typhoid-specific antigen and translated the discovery into TYPHIDOT™, followed by Typhidot-M and TyphiRapid.

TYPHIDOT™ reduced the time needed for diagnosis from several days to approximately three hours. The technology was commercialised internationally and reached more than 18 countries across Asia and Africa, with more than two million cases reportedly diagnosed using the test. TyphiRapid later simplified the process further through a lateral-flow format capable of producing results within minutes.

The innovations became important early examples of Malaysian biomedical research moving successfully from laboratory discovery to international application. For Professor Asma, however, their real significance was simpler, people could receive answers sooner, allowing treatment decisions to be made more quickly.

TYPHIDOT-M.

TyphiRapid.

My postgraduates working on enteric diseases. They are now academic leaders at USM.

Building Systems for Science to Flourish

TYPHIDOT™ taught Professor Asma what could happen when scientific discovery found its way into the real world.

It also taught that individual breakthroughs alone could not transform a nation. Researchers required institutions, funding, recognition and pathways that enabled good ideas to grow.

From 2006, she contributed to the development of Malaysia’s Research University framework, strengthening the role of universities in advanced research, postgraduate training and innovation. She also supported the development of the Malaysian Research Assessment system and later spearheaded initiatives such as Anugerah Akademik Negara and Top Research Scientists Malaysia.

As her responsibilities grew, Professor Asma crossed a series of thresholds that no Malaysian woman before her had crossed. She became the first woman Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and subsequently Universiti Sains Malaysia, as well as Malaysia’s first female Director-General of Higher Education. From 2016 to 2022, she served as President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and later became the country’s first female Science Advisor.

Yet she has never regarded being “the first” as the achievement itself. What mattered, she says, was doing the work with integrity and making the pathway les difficult for those who came afterwards.

Explaining TYPHIDOT™, a state-of-theart technology that reduced the time needed for diagnosis to approximately three hours.

Professor Asma served as President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, creating a stronger connection between scientists and policymakers.

Recipient of the Tokoh Anugerah Akademik Negara 2021.

Bringing Evidence into National Decisions

At the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Professor Asma sought to strengthen the bridge between scientists and policymakers.

Under her leadership, expert groups brought evidence into discussions on national challenges, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked to give younger scientists a stronger voice, including through the Young Scientists Network and its engagement with national science leadership.

Her contribution to policymaking has spanned the National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation 2021-2030, the 10-10 MySTIE Framework, National Biotechnology Policy, National Robotics Roadmap and other strategic initiatives.

Education remained equally important. Having contributed to the Malaysian Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2013-2025, she later chaired the expert panel developing the Higher Education Blueprint 2026-2035 and became closely involved in wider national education reform.

Another important focus is planetary health. Professor Asma chairs the National
Planetary Health Action Plan, which seeks to bring human health, environmental sustainability and development into the same national conversation.

Across these efforts runs a consistent belief that writing policies is only the beginning. Their value depends on implementation.

She has learnt that transformation cannot simply be instructed from the top. It requires evidence, listening, trust and shared ownership. Mindsets must change before behaviour can change.

Conferred an award by Planetary Health Alliance for the development of The National Planetary Health Action Plan – the first of its kind in the world.

Leadership Through People

Perhaps the legacy Professor Asma values most is found in the people she has helped develop.

Many of her students, mentees and colleagues have gone on to become professors, deans, vice-chancellors, Academy Fellows and national leaders. To her, this represents a deeper form of achievement than any individual position.

Today, as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of IMU University, she continues working to connect healthcare education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and sustainability. She also remains
involved internationally through scientific academies and advisory networks.

Her guiding values remain integrity, service, excellence, courage, humility and purpose. She believes science and technology must ultimately remain centred on humanity, equity and the wellbeing of the planet.

Professor Asma’s journey reflects the Merdeka Award Trust’s commitment to recognising contributions whose impact extends beyond individual achievement.

Her story is one of bridges – between research and patients, universities and industry, scientists and policymakers and one generation of leaders and the next.

For her, knowledge reaches its highest purpose when it creates opportunities for others and leaves society stronger than before.

Professor Asma was appointed as IMU
University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief
Executive Officer, advancing healthcare through
education, research and innovation.

Appointed as ASM Senior Fellow in 2024, for
her contributions to science, technology and
Recipient of the Tokoh Anugerah Akademik Negara 2021. innovation.

Recipient of the Tokoh Anugerah Akademik Negara 2021. innovation. With her highly supportive and loving family.

“Be curious enough to discover, courageous enough to innovate, humble enough to collaborate and committed enough to ensure that your knowledge creates lasting impact”

Disclaimer:
The information in this award recipient's profile is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of the time the award was presented. Any subsequent changes, updates, or developments in the individual's life or achievements may not be reflected in this profile.

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