Dr. Amal A. M. Elgharbawy

Dr. Amal A. M. Elgharbawy

Assistant Professor


Amal A. M. Elgharbawy is an Assistant Professor at the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART). She obtained her PhD in Engineering from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in 2018, and her Master’s in Biotechnology Engineering in 2013. She obtained her B.Sc. (Hons.) from King Abdul Aziz University, Saudi Arabia, and was awarded First Honor and Excellence Award, and worked as chemistry and biology teacher for two years. Dr. Amal started her research career as Research Associate (2017-2018) at University of Malaya and joined INHART as a research fellow (2018-2020). Her research interests are in the areas of (1) Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents and their applications in Halal Industry, (2) Enzymology, (3) Fermentation Technology and (4) Nanomaterials. She has published several articles in national and international conferences, SCOPUS and ISI indexed journals and book chapters related to ionic liquids, enzymology and nanomaterials, along with several invited reviews. She served as a reviewer for several conferences and journals. She is also Mendeley Advisor and also a member of Malaysian Society of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and the Society for Conservation Biology (Nov 2019- Nov 2020) and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Dr. Amal was invited as Visiting Professor in 2021 at the University of Brawijaya, Indonesia. She has been invited as a speaker in Halal Week, Japan, in 2021 and 2022. She is also the co-instructor and co-developer of the Online Halalpreneurship Training and one of the authors of the Halalpreneurship book. Dr Amal was INHART E-Learning Facilitator for the year 2020 and Educator 4.0 (2020-present). She also obtained the certificates of virtual learn caster (VLC) and Virtual Learning Educator (VLE) from Ministry of Education, Malaysia.



EDUCATION

2018

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (PhD)

International Islamic University Malaysia, Department of Biotechnology Engineering. Faculty of Engineering

Research Title: Investigation of Cellulase-Compatible Ionic Liquids for in situ Hydrolysis and Bioethanol Production from Oil Palm Biomass (OPB).

2013

Master’s Degree (M. Sc.) in Biotechnology Engineering

International Islamic University Malaysia, Department of Biotechnology Engineering. Faculty of Engineering.

Research Title: Production and Characterization of Lipase from Palm Kernel Cake using Candida cylindracea by Solid-State Bioconversion

2007

Bachelor's Degree (B. Sc.) in Biochemistry

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

  • Major: Biochemistry Science.

  • Honor Excellence award in 2007 and First Honor award for the highest CGPA (4.98/5.0)

Employment & Experience

Head of Research (Aug 2021- July 2023)

International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  • Facilitator research and publications

  • Grant management and monitoring

  • Grant application

  • Staff and students training

Assistant Professor (July 2020- Present)

International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  • Facilitator and Co-trainer for halal certification for SMEs

  • Develop and create projects to obtain national and international grants to sustain post-graduate students and researchers

  • Supervising and advising post-graduate students throughout their study

  • Liaise and collaborate with universities and institutes to expand the research diversity and exposure.

  • Teaching

Research Fellow (Aug 2018- Present)

International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  • Facilitator and Co-trainer for halal certification for SMEs

  • Develop and create projects to obtain national and international grants to sustain post-graduate students and researchers

  • Supervising and advising post-graduate students throughout their study

  • Liaise and collaborate with universities and institutes to expand the research diversity and exposure.

Research Associate ( Aug 2017- July 2018)

University of Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • In-depth knowledge of enzyme stability in different solvents

  • Knowledge of the proper conduct of research management (research grant, research proposal, execution, data and time management).

  • Skill improvement on colleagues’ assistance, teamwork, and research discussion.

Private Tutor for science subjects (A/O levels) (Aug 2016-Jul 2018 )

Creative Language Center (CLC), Jalan Jelatek, Kualal Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Private tutor for mathematics, Chemistry and Biology (O/A) level

Graduate Research Assistant (Feb 2012 – July 2013 & Feb 2014- June 2016 )

Department of Biotechnology Engineering, IIUM, Kualal Lumpur, Malaysia

    • Knowledge of solid-state fermentation, production of microbial enzymes, waste management, and other relevant experience.

    • Project and research management (execution & documentation).

    • Design experiments and statistical analysis of data.

    • Ionic liquids and their applications

Biotechnology Laboratory Demonstrator (Feb 2012 – June 2017)

Department of Biotechnology Engineering, IIUM, Kualal Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Ensuring safety procedure during laboratory sessions

  • Perpetration for the lab session including the chemical, microbial strains, and equipment to be used to achieve the objectives of the experiment.

Engineering Drawing Academic Tutor (Sep 2013-Dec 2013)

Manufacturing and Materials Engineering Department, IIUM, Kualal Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Demonstrate during drawing sessions

  • Assessment of reports and quizzes

  • Solid Works basic skills

High School Teacher and Homeroom Teacher (Sep 2009- July 2011)

Al-Andalus Private Schools, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Subjects:

  • Chemistry

  • Biology

  • Environmental studies

Research Interests

  • Conversion of industrial crops to useful products including enzymes and biofuels.

  • Chemistry, biochemistry, and analysis of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and others.

  • Green solvents; Ionic liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents and their applications.

  • Microbial enzymes production and Fermentation Technology.

  • Enzymatic hydrolysis, assays, purification and kinetics.

Languages

  1. Arabic (native speaker); reading, writing and speaking

  2. English (proficient user); Latest IELTS (July 2018).

  3. Japanese (Beginner); speaking

  4. Korean (Beginner); speaking

  5. Malay (Beginner); speaking

Skills

    • Microsoft Project

    • Design of Experiment

    • Scientific Writing

    • Website design

    • Graphic editing (Ps)

    • Illustrator

    • Microsoft Office

    • Minitab

    • IBM SPSS

    • GraphPad Prism