Niveen completed her Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2003. After working as a research engineer in the oil industry for 5 years, she decided on a career change and she completed her M.S. in biology at Temple University. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Stanford University. Her research examines the use of bivalves such as mussels and clams to improve water quality by removing chemical and microbial pollutants. After graduate school, Niveen hopes to continue research on the impacts of pollutants on aquatic organisms and how to use nature to remove these pollutants as a university faculty member.