Assem is vice-president of the Agricultural Research Center in Egypt. She was the former director of the Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Research Institute (ARC). She is specialized in plant molecular biology and biotechnology. She visited and exchanged her experiences as a visiting scientist at several universities and biotech companies in the USA. Assem is a member of the African Union High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies and the former vice-chair of the Genetic Sciences National Committee of the Egyptian Academy of Science and Technology, Egypt. She is a Fulbright Alumnus, USA (2002-2003). Assem is a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Programme, Faculty of Agriculture, Banha University, Egypt. She was a team leader for one of the groups updating the Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy (2019) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, and she received the FAO Prize 2017. She participated in several basic and applied national and international research projects, she has several publications in peer reviewed journals, and is a reviewer for some national and international funding schemes.