(Chemical) Bonding is what makes life possible

Mila is a PhD candidate in Conservation Science in the Department of Conservation and Restoration at NOVA School of Science and Technology (Portugal).
In 2017, she obtained a Master's degree in Techniques for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from Università degli Studi di Genova (Italy). After her graduation, Mila gained experience as a research assistant in art institutions, including the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (Brussels) and the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge, UK) where she investigated the art materials and techniques used in paintings and illuminated manuscripts with imaging and spectroscopic methods.
In 2022, Mila was awarded a 4-year doctoral grant (UI/BD/153081/2022) from the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to study the historical use of lac dye and its applications in the European textile dyeing industry. In collaboration with the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE) and her co-supervisors Dr Dominique Cardon, a historian and world-leading expert in natural dyes, and Dr Diego Tamburini, a material scientist at The British Museum (London), Mila aims to explore the variety of raw materials from which lac dye reds are extracted; lac-dyeing techniques; and analytical methods for the identification and characterisation of lac dye in historical textiles.