Professor Asma Ismail is the deputy vice chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and director of the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) at the university. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Young Scientist Award, International Federation of Inventors Award for Outstanding Malaysian Women Inventor, AvonTan Sri Fatimah Malaysian Women of Distinction Award, National Invention Award and National Innovation Award.
Asma, who holds a doctoral degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Nevada, started her career as a lecturer at USM's School of Medical Sciences in 1986. She was a visiting scientist at University of Tokyo in 1989 and a visiting fellow at the Medical College, St Bartholomew's Hospital in London in 1992. In 2001, she became the director of the Center for Medical Innovations and Technology Development at USM before becoming the director of INFORMM two years later.
Professor Asma, who specializes in proteomics and its application in the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases especially typhoid fever, is an inspiring personality. Her studies on specific biomarkers led to the discovery of an antigenically specific 50kDa of Salmonella typhi. She is one of the scientists credited with the translation of the scientific discovery into four rapid diagnostic kits for typhoid that have been successfully commercialized globally. She has applied for 26 patents worldwide of which seven has been granted. Speaking to Arab News, Asma said INFORMM has been successful in adopting a closedcycle concept of research, development, commercialization and the setting up of knowledgebased spinoffs in one entity. "This concept led to the discovery of specific biomarkers and the development of innovative and rapid molecular diagnostic kits (protein and DNAbased) against infectious diseases and tropical diseases," she said.
Kits for pharmacogenomic purposes have also been developed to facilitate drug trials and pharmacogenetic understanding of the human response to drugs especially for AIDS. "These innovative diagnostic kits provide solutions to reduce inequity and enhance sustainability values of accessibility, affordability and availability," she said, insisting that diagnostics should be made affordable to Third World countries.
"If companies make diagnostics accessible to poor countries through profit minimization they will be able to earn more profits by targeting the world's four billion poor," she pointed out. "A diagnostic system that costs $10 in the United States can be made available for $1 in our countries. We have to make R&D relevant for our people and countries," she said.
INFORMM's healthcare R&D targets include OIC member countries and other Asian developing and underdeveloped countries. The Jeddahbased Islamic Development Bank selected INFORMM for its Science & Technology Award this year in recognition of its outstanding scientific contributions to the socioeconomic development of Malaysia. INFORMM created innovative and affordable diagnostics to treat infectious diseases. "We hope our scientific achievements can help develop and create an impact to the poor and vulnerable in the Islamic countries," she stated.
Asma believes that the IDB's cash award would support INFORMM's activities in producing sustainable diagnostics to treat burdensome infectious diseases in the poor countries. The award money will also be utilized to ensure the competitiveness of the institute's products in the global market as well as to train graduate students to learn and acquire a technology or a skill that would enhance product development, she said. "We would like develop more diagnostics that address local problems and the solutions created can be utilized to solve global problems as well," she said.
Asma expressed her delight over winning the prestigious award. "As an INFORMMer, we feel honored yet humbled to receive this award," Asma said. "Despite being a young institute that has completed just five years, INFORMM was chosen for the award. I hope this award will encourage other centers of excellence in Malaysia to prove their competence to win the award," she said, adding that INFORMM was the first research institute in Malaysia to receive such an IDB award. Asma also spoke about the institute's cooperation with international scientific and research centers. "We have reached partnership with Finlay Institute of Havana, to develop diagnostics for typhoid, cholera, dysentery and tuberculosis using monoclonal antibodies and immunochromatography technology platforms," she said. In the quest of developing cheap microfluidics diagnostics, a device has been developed in collaboration with Deakin University, Australia. The device can replace the conventional PCR machine for DNA diagnostics and deliver results within 30 minutes. "In the area of pharmacogenomics, we have a strong collaboration with Yale University in the development and advancement of pharmacogenomics especially to treat AIDS," she said.
"Our institute has a team of people (academic and support staff) with ambitions to strive to be the best that we can be in everything that we are committed to. We believe that geographical location should not be a barrier in trying to make a difference in the world," she said. "Even though we are only a force of 10 academics and 40 support staff, we dared to dream big and dared to hope that our innovations can help reduce inequity in the world. Our success story reflects in part, Malaysia's scientific capability and ability to create an impact on society and on the world. We want make use of science for the welfare of humanity. To INFORMMers, the future is not where we are going but what we are creating."
