Gülsüm Emel Zengin Balcı has a B.Sc. degree (1998) in Environmental Engineering from Yıldız Technical University and MSc. Degree (2001) in Environmental Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). She received her Ph.D. degree (2008) in in Environmental Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). She was granted the Japanese Monbukagusho Scholarship to carry out a part of her PhD study at the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences. She is currently working as an Associate Professor at Environmental Engineering Department of ITU. Her research interests are microbial ecology and process optimization of biological nutrient removal systems, biodegradation of micropollutants, energy and value-added product recovery from waste streams and sludge management.