Prof. Dr. Amir Feisal Merican Bin Aljunid Merican

Prof. Dr. Amir Feisal Merican, a professor at Institute of Biological Sciences, faculty of Science, University of Malaya passed away on 17th December 2022 at the age of 54 at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in Kuala Lumpur due to lung infection.With his demise, Malaysia lost a renowned bioinformatician, scientist, geneticist and scholar.

Prof Amir Feisal obtained a first class honours degree in Microbiology from the University of Malaya (UM) in 1992. He was appointed a lecturer in UM in 1995 after successfully completing his DPhil in Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology at the University of Oxford, England. In 2006, he was awarded a MPhil degree in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge, England. He spearheaded the development of the curriculum for both the Bachelor of Science (Bioinformatics) and Master in Bioinformatics (by coursework) degree programmes, both the first in Malaysia.

Prof Amir Feisal served as the director of the Centre for Computational and Systems Biology at the Malaysia Genome Institute of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) from November 2009 to November 2011. He was also one of the co-founders and the ex-President of the Malaysian Society of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (MaSBiC). Prof Amir Feisal founded and headed the Centre of Research in Computational Sciences and Informatics for Biology, Bioindustry, Environment, Agriculture and Healthcare (CRYSTAL), a University of Malaya research centre.

For all his contributions, Prof Amir Feisal received many distinguished awards, which include Japanese Bioindustry Association for research in Molecular Systematics with Professor Takayuki Ezaki at Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan (1998), Fulbright Fellowship for research in Bioinformatics with Nobel Laureate Professor Walter Gilbert at Harvard University (2000), Commonwealth Fellowship for research in Molecular Microbial Ecology with Professor Jon Saunders at Liverpool University (2001) and Excellent Service Award, University of Malaya (2003).

Prof Amir will always be remembered as a dedicated, efficient, determined and well-read scholar who strived for excellence. He had an uncanny ability to reach people in a deep and positive way with his kindness, humility, consideration, generosity, affection, and thoughtfulness. His wisdom and exceptional achievements has made him a role model and an icon for his students, young researchers and colleagues. To this, we give thanks for the life and career of Prof Amir.

Prof. Dr. Amir Feisal Merican is survived by his wife, a son, four daughters, a daughter-in-law, a grandson, relatives, students, colleagues, and friends who mourn his death. May Allah grant him Jannatul-Firdaus and forgive his sins and may his grave be a place of comfort and light. May Allah grant his family fortitude and sabr in this difficult time.

Al-fatihah.

Written by, Prof Zilfalil bin Alwi Universiti Sains Malaysia