Dr Zahra Naimie is a curriculum and instructional technology specialist with over 15 years of academic experience across the Faculties of Education and Dentistry at the University of Malaya. She holds a PhD in Education and a Master’s degree, and is currently pursuing her second Master-Master of Dental Science (Dental Education, by research) at the Faculty of Dentistry with an expected completion date of January 2026.

She was the inaugural Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dental Education at the Faculty of Dentistry (2010–2012), contributing to academic program development at one of Southeast Asia’s most established dental institutions. From 2012 to 2018, she served as a Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator at the Faculty of Education, where she was actively involved in curriculum revision, mobility programs, and academic coordination as well as research and scholarly publication.

From 2018 to 2023, she returned to the Faculty of Dentistry as Deputy Head of the University Malaya Dental Education Enhancement and Development (UMDEED) Unit. In this role, she played a pivotal part in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) curriculum review and led the development of the region’s first Master of Dental Education program. As the founding coordinator, she designed 12 postgraduate-level courses and oversaw the full preparation of documentation for MQA approval, concluding her tenure at the faculty in April 2023.

Dr Naimie has secured over RM 414,250 in competitive research funding (as Principal and Co-Investigator) and has published extensively in indexed journals, with more than 50 SCOPUS/WoS articles, 10 authored books, and 26 book chapters with international publishers including Springer, Taylor & Francis, Pearson, and UM Press. Her scholarly work has attracted more than 10,000 reads and earned an  overall h-index of 17. She holds seven patents (2 in process) and received national recognition, including entry into the Malaysia Book of Records for her pioneering trilingual oral health book for the visually impaired.

She has demonstrated strong leadership in both academic and community initiatives, notably founding the UMHAKCS (University ofMalaya Hope and Kindness Creates Smiles) program and coordinating a virtual international mobility initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, which engaged over 900 participants from 30 countries. Her interdisciplinary expertise and commitment to reflective learning, educational technology integration, and inclusive pedagogy position her as a valuable contributor to academic development and curriculum innovation in health professions 
education.