Dr Asma, who is the first woman ever appointed to the post of vice-chancellor for the university, will hold the office for the next three years, starting Oct 4.
USM Board of Governors Chairman Dr Zulkefli A Hassan said the university welcomed the appointment and hoped that Asma would help the university march towards excellence in the future.
“We also hope she can bring USM to a higher level and (become) a well-known university worldwide,” he said in a statement today.
Zulkefli also thanked Omar for his work and dedication during his time of service.
After obtaining her first degree in Biology from the University of Nevada, in Reno, United States, Asma continued her postgraduate studies in Microbiology in the Indiana University and later obtained her doctorate in Cellular and Molecular Biology, also from the University of Nevada.
She began her career in 1986 as a lecturer of Medical Microbiology in USM while serving as a fellow professor at many world renowned universities, such as the University of Tokyo, Japan, and St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
Asma, who was formerly the USM deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation), has also served as the vice-chancellor of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) since December 2012.
Known for her work in research, she has succeeded in commercialising research findings with grants of more than RM19 million in the past five years and has also presented more than 340 convention papers and speeches on scientific inventions worldwide.
When met at her last “clock-out” moment at the higher education ministry here today, Asma said she was keen to see the impact of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education), after being involved in its formulation, while being at the helm of the university.
She said formulating and “writing” the blueprint were among
her significant contributions as the higher education director-general.
Asma, 58, said there was a need to see whether the 10 key shifts in the blueprint could be assimilated at the university.
“What I’ve preached in terms of what one should do to implement the blueprint now becomes a challenge to me.”