Asri Rasad

Asri Rasad (30 October 192614 July 2010) was an Indonesian physician and a professor of biochemistry at the University of Indonesia. He was the dean of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine from 1984 to 1990 and Rector of the YARSI University from 1990 to 2005. He also held a number of memberships in national academic agencies, such as the National Research Council, the National Accreditation Council, and the Council of Higher Education.

Early life and education Asri Rasad was born in Pariaman, West Sumatra, on 30 October 1926. His childhood was shaped by a strong Minangkabau cultural heritage and a family environment that emphasized independence and self-sufficiency. From a young age, Rasad was prepared by his mother for the challenges of migration and higher education, learning essential life skills such as cooking, sewing, and ironing before leaving for Java to pursue further studies.

Rasad’s educational journey began at the Hollandsch-Inlandsche School in 1939, followed by the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs in 1942. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, he attended the military supervised high school in Jakarta from 1943 to 1945. Following the proclamation of Indonesian Independence in 1945 that marked the end of Japanese occupation, he served as a liaison officer in the fledgling Indonesian army, acting as a crucial link between the Indonesian military headquarters in Yogyakarta under the command of Mas Tirtodarmo Haryono and the Allied Forces Headquarters in Jakarta. He completed his final high school exam at an Indonesian-owned high school in Jakarta in 1948. two years after the Indonesian Higher Education Center merged with the Dutch-owned Universiteit van Indonesië to form the University of Indonesia (UI). During his college studies, Rasad became a schoolteacher and taught at the API (Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia) middle school and high school, the Budi Utomo High School, and the State Chemical Analyst School. Despite lacking formal pedagogical training, Rasad’s natural aptitude for teaching and his Minangkabau background—often associated with linguistic proficiency—enabled him to excel, particularly in teaching Indonesian language. and was promoted to a junior lecturer in the faculty. He completed his medical exam (arts-examen) in June 1955 and became a lecturer in the biochemical department. He finally completed his medical education in 1957 after passing the final medical examination in November 1956.

Rasad continued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Master of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and the School of Biological Sciences, University of Tennessee, Memphis from 1958 to 1959. He became a visiting scientist at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for a year before returning to Indonesia. He in the WHO International Training in Laboratory and Field Methods of Human Population Genetics in India in 1963. Rasad completed his Ph.D. at the School of Basic Medical Science at the University of Tennessee from 1968 to 1971 with a thesis titled Effect of Continuous Low Level Irradiation Upon Hemoglobin Biosynthesis in Mice and was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution from 1971 to 1973. Two years later, Rasad was appointed by dean Ratwita Gandasoebrata to serve as his deputy for academic affairs. His leadership culminated in his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine from 1984 to 1990, where he played a pivotal role in shaping medical education and research in Indonesia. Upon retiring, Rasad became the rector of the YARSI University, serving in the position until 2005. and has three daughters.