Dr. Noor Munirah Isa is a senior lecturer at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya. Her Ph.D. in bioethics, which she received from the same department in 2013, provided her with a solid foundation for her research in this fascinating multidisciplinary field of study.

Dr. Isa has had a lifelong interest in Islam, Muslim, and science. This interest was inspired by medieval Muslim polymaths and was further cultivated when she studied biotechnology and Islamic studies for her bachelor’s degree. She was part of the first batch of students to graduate from the Universiti Malaya Applied Science with Islamic Studies undergraduate program in September 2007. This unique program provided her with the opportunity to study science and religion in an interdisciplinary manner, which has been a driving force behind her research to this day.

Dr. Isa's doctoral thesis was a study on how Muslim scholars assess selected applications of modern biotechnology from an Islamic perspective and how they view conventional perspectives in this regard. Her research has continued to focus on the intersection of science, technology, and society, and she has been especially interested in the interplay between science and Islam, bioethics, and science communication. She believes that these areas are crucial for bridging the scientific community and society, and for promoting public engagement and trust in science.

In 2014-2016, Dr. Isa conducted a small research project aimed at examining the role of Malay science fiction novels in communicating ethics in science and technology to the Malaysian public. This was followed by a larger project, which she led, that explored the Islamic perspectives on human germline gene editing. This project was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and provided Dr. Isa and her team with the opportunity to explore the Islamic worldview and to expound on Islamic ethical-legal concepts and principles related to human germline gene editing.

Dr. Isa is also a co-investigator in a project on developing standards for using kratom leaves for medical purposes. In addition to studying Islamic perspectives, she is also interested in cross-cultural studies of religious and cultural perspectives on bioethics. Her interest in this area has been recognized by the Global Forum on Bioethics of Research Project Fellowship from Wellcome Trust, which she received to study the ethics of human genome editing from Islamic and Confucian perspectives. She was also awarded the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) Scholars Award 2020-2021, which enabled her to explore the influence of religion on bioethics in Thailand, where Buddhism is the official religion.

Dr. Isa recognizes that science communication is a crucial area of research that has been underexplored in Malaysia. With this in mind, she has attempted to fill this gap by conducting small projects with postgraduate students on Malaysian public knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward various topics, including vaccination, dengue fever, and medical cannabis. Through these projects, she aims to better understand public perception towards science and technology and to identify the factors that contribute to public trust in science.