Dr Natarajan has a bioprocess engineering background and she completed her doctoral work at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2014, studying the biological recovery of precious metals from solid waste. Her current research will focus on understanding the ecological role of Anammox bacteria at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant for more cost effective and efficient nitrogen removal from used water, and help apply Anammox technology in full-scale systems for mainstream treatment of domestic used water.