Manuela Marai

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow with the project GALENA (Galen’s Antimicrobial Laboratory: Exploring Natural Antiquities).

Her research focuses on the reconstruction of ancient medical thought, with particular attention to the use, processing, and combination of pharmaceutical substances and to the rationale underlying therapeutic practice in Galen of Pergamon’s works on compound remedies. Drawing on her background in both Classics and life sciences, she is also interested in the potential efficacy of ancient formulations, especially those with possible antimicrobial activity, and collaborates with biologists and chemists to replicate remedies and investigate their bioactivity.