Born and raised in Penang, Dr Heah Zi-Ling is currently a Music Lecturer at UCSI University. Zi-Ling received her Doctoral and Master's degrees in Piano Performance from West Virginia University and Bowling Green State University in the USA. Prior to pursuing her studies in the USA, she also graduated with a bachelor’s in law.  
 
Zi-Ling held various job positions during her doctoral studies in the USA, including Adjunct Lecturer as Collaborative Pianist and Graduate Assistant in Choral Accompanying. Her interest in music research lies primarily in French Piano Music as her final DMA dissertation, titled "Evocations of Nature in Selected Piano Works by Debussy" was subsequently awarded the Mary T. Ferrer Award for excellence in DMA research. Other personal interests in piano performance and research, would include Scriabin's Piano Music and the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, where his music is a culmination of a "synthesis of the arts".  She also enjoys performing new music in a chamber music setting.