Mahasti Afshar later returned to Harvard where, in 1987, she received her Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indo-European Traditional Literature and Mythology. Her dissertation was published in 1988, winning an award from the Mahvi Foundation in Geneva. Her study of folklore indirectly led to her work with the GCI, which she joined in 1989. As Dr. Afshar saw it, the GCI's efforts in art conservation paralleled the conservation of oral traditions that is part of folkloric studies. Both involved preserving manifestations of culture.
Mythology deals with universals of human experience.
Art, at its best, does the same. The appeal for Mahasti Afshar of working at the GCI is that it gives her the chance to combine her academic training with an active role in conserving cultural heritage. In her present position, she assists the GCI's director in researching and developing Institute projects. Over the last three years Dr. Afshar has helped to coordinate the Nefertari Conservation Project in Egypt and the Nefertari Exhibition, which opens at the J. Paul Getty Museum in November 1992.