Dr. Samira Omar Asem

Dr. Samira Omar Asem is Director General and Principal Research Scientist at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR).

Dr. Omar joined KISR in 1973 and previously served as Principal Research Scientist, Division Director of the Food Resources and Marine Sciences (FRD), and Program Director of the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP). She contributed to the development of several strategic plans to promote research and development at the institute and encouraged commercialization of commodities developed by KISR; such as tissue culture date palms, poultry, local fish and desert plants. She has managed and directed complex projects such as the Kuwait Environmental Research Program, the Soil Survey for the State of Kuwait, and Boubyan Project.

Dr. Omar’s scientific achievements resulted in establishing protected areas in Kuwait, the classification of soils in the country, and the development of know-how on the restoration of damaged terrestrial ecosystems. She also contributed to the environmental and monitoring assessment program that resulted in an environmental award to the Government of Kuwait and has published a number of journal articles and books on environmental conservation.

At international level, Dr. Omar serves as IUCN Regional Councilor for West Asia Region, a board member by election in the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), Executive Board Member and Vice President for the Arab Region in the Organization for Women in Science for Developing World (OWSD) and a board member for the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA).

She has bachelor’s degree in botany and chemistry from the University of Kuwait, as well as a Master’s degree in Range Management and a Ph.D. in Wild Land Resource Science from the University of California Berkeley.