I hold a PhD in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from NOVA School of Science and Technology (2017) with a thesis focused on the preservation of polyurethane. From this experience, I acquired a strong expertise in advanced analytical techniques such as infrared and Raman spectroscopies for the assessment of both polyurethane ageing and storage preventive solutions for this polymer. Establishing conservation strategies for urgent needs in museum collections holding challenging materials such as plastics has been the core of my research and the biggest motivation behind my career growth. Since 2011, I have been integrated several funded research projects, all focused on the preservation and history of plastics, as well as on the development of novel and green solutions for their conservation. I have gained an independent research profile in the study of plastics, foams and rubbers degradation. From my expertise, I was invited to integrate the funded research project ‘Glossy Surfaces - The Conservation of TPUs in Fashion’, an international consortium with renowned museums and research centres such as MoMu (Belgium), MET (EUA), MUDE (Portugal) and Centexbel (Belgium). In 2018, I co-founded the first spin-off of DCR, NEON Art Conservation Lda. NEON is the first company in Lisbon dedicated to the conservation of modern materials. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at DCR FCT NOVA and Erasmus Coordinator of DCR.
Synthetic Coatings in Fashion Collections: Identification and Preservation Issues. In Handbook on Conservation of Museum Textiles. Wiley - Scrivener Publications, 2022. Invited publication
Portable spectroscopy for cultural heritage: applications and practical challenges. In Portable Spectroscopy and Spectrometry 2: Applications, First Edition. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2021, 499-522. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119636489.ch43. Invited publication
A first approach into the characterisation of historical plastic objects by in situ diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 240 (2020) 118548.