Cigdem Eskicioglu obtained her B.Sc. in Environmental Engineering in 1996 from Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Türkiye. She worked as an Environmental Process Engineer in Istanbul from 1997 to 2001. With a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) scholarship, she pursued a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Ottawa (UO), Canada, studying microwave pretreatment of municipal sludge for advanced anaerobic digestion under Professors Ronald L. Droste and Kevin J. Kennedy (2002-2006). After her Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2006-2008) at UO, she joined the School of Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, as Professor, founding and leading the Bioreactor Technology Group (BTG). From 2020 to 2025 at UBC, Professor Eskicioglu was awarded the prestigious NSERC/Metro Vancouver Senior Industrial Research Chair (IRC) title and led a research partnership program on advanced resource recovery from wastewater.

My overarching research program supports my long-term vision of advancing waste treatment processes for efficient contaminant removal, bioenergy conversion, and resource recovery. In partnership with waste utilities, engineering companies, agricultural communities, and government agencies, we develop advanced biochemical (aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic bioreactors, dark fermentation) and thermochemical (hydrothermal liquefaction) reactor processes for waste minimization. As the global trend towards a circular economy increases, we focus on resource recovery from waste in the forms of phosphorus, ammonia, biomethane, biohydrogen, and biocrude oil, and safely integrating novel reactor processes into treatment operations. Another research area is the quantification, fate, and removal of emerging contaminants, such as hormones, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and flame retardants, to meet stringent discharge limits and reduce impact on the natural environment.