ASSOCIATE PROF. CHM DR. NORAINI BINTI AHMAD

NORAINI AHMAD obtained her BSc (Hons) in Applied Chemistry from the Universiti Malaya in 2003. In 2008, she received her MSc in Colloid and Surface Chemistry, while in 2012 she obtained her PhD in Physical Chemistry, both from the Universiti Malaya. During her PhD studies, she went for a research attachment at the Instituto de Química Avanzada de Cataluña - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IQAC-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain in 2010-2012 funded by the InForm Project, EU-FP7 and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia. Her journey and experience led her to be selected as a Nanobiotechnology Scientist/Expert representing Malaysia at the Workshop of Scientists from Russia and the ASEAN Countries - Nanobiotechnology: Achievement and Scope held in Vladivostok, Russia in 2015.

Formerly, she was a lecturer at the Centre for Foundation Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia (CFS IIUM) for more than 3 years before joining Universiti Malaya in 2008. After obtaining her PhD, she was appointed as a Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya in 2012 and was later promoted to a Senior Lecturer in 2013. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya.

She is currently holding a number of major administrative duties, namely as Coordinator of Formulation and Product Development Unit, Centre for Natural Products Research and Drug Discovery (CENAR), STEM Representative of the Faculty of Science at the Universiti Malaya STEM Centre, Programme Coordinator BSc (Chemistry), Coordinator of the Universiti Malaya Week of Welcome (UM-WOW) for the Undergraduates and Committee Member of the Visibility and Internationalization, Faculty of Science. Additionally, she has broad experience as a Deputy Director of the Universiti Malaya Community Engagement Center (UMCares)(2022-2024), in which previously as a Fellow of UMCares (2019-2021).

On top of that, she was honored and invited as a Visiting Professor at the Institut Químic de Sarrià, IQS (Chemical Institute of Sarrià), Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain and Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya, Indonesia in 2023-2024. She has also been invited as a Visiting Professor to give Guest Lecture at the Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya (UNUSA), UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang and Universitas Brawijaya to share her knowledge and expertise in the field of colloid chemistry and nanotechnology for various applications. Moreover, she has also been invited as a keynote and invited speaker at several international conferences.

Her areas of expertise are in Physical Chemistry (colloid chemistry, liquid crystal, surfactant, self-assembly structure, green chemistry, chemical kinetics), Nanomaterials Formulation and Drug Delivery Systems. Her research interests are focused on the formulation of nanocarrier systems based on lipids and other surfactants for pharmaceutical, medical, cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and agrochemical applications.

Moreover, she has been awarded several internal and external research grants as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator (>MYR11,000,000). Besides, she has won numerous awards nationally and internationally. To date, she has published more than 35 articles in reputable scientific journals (WoS/Scopus). Apart from teaching and research, Noraini is also an active member in her university, holding a number of administrative posts, technical committee member and research grants evaluator. She is also actively involved in various social activities / programmes at the national and international level.