# The Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities responds to the Wellcome Trust’s report on Archives, manuscripts and material culture (AMCs) in life, health, and wellbeing research

## TL;DR

This paper responds to a Wellcome Trust report on archives and material culture in health research, emphasizing their transformative potential and ethical digitization challenges.

## Contribution

The paper expands on the Wellcome Trust report by highlighting the role of medical humanities in generating real-world reform and advocating for inclusive digitization practices.

## Key findings

- Medical humanities research using archives can drive clinical reforms, such as ending race-based lung capacity evaluations.
- Digitization initiatives must address ethical issues like environmental impact and structural inequities in digital infrastructure.
- Health-related material culture should include artistic and sensory experiences beyond biomedical paradigms.

## Abstract

This open letter from Durham University’s Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities responds to the
Wellcome Trust’s 2025 report on archives, manuscripts, and material culture (AMCs) in health research. We applaud the report’s recognition of AMCs as foundational infrastructures for discovery research and its emphasis on pluralistic values, and we use this letter to expand upon three critical dimensions. First, we reinforce the point that medical humanities work with AMCs generates transformational biomedical and cultural knowledge capable of effecting real-world reform, exemplified by recent challenges to race-based lung capacity evaluations citing Platform research. Second, we urge caution regarding digitisation initiatives, particularly concerning A.I. training using existing collections, emphasising the need for ethical consideration of environmental impact, intellectual property, and the perpetuation of structural inequities in digital infrastructure. Third, we advocate for expansive definitions of health-related material culture beyond biomedical paradigms, encompassing artistic collections and emphasising the irreplaceable value of sensory and affective experiences in hands-on collections work. We draw attention to the tensions inherent in the use of digital surrogates, which, though vital for accessibility, cannot fully replace original collections. We conclude by emphasising the Platform’s commitment to further collaborative work to transform the report’s recommendations into sustainable practice.

The Discovery Research Platform for the Medical Humanities at Durham University received the recent Wellcome Trust report on archives, manuscripts and material culture in health research (2025) with enthusiasm. The report recognises that these sources provide essential foundations for discovery research. This recognition is overdue. We reiterate the report’s emphasis on valuing collections and research in multiple ways.
We want to highlight three key points.
First, archives and collections produce new knowledge. Medical humanities work can transform knowledge and create real-world change. For example, a 2025 New England Journal of Medicine article has called to end race-based lung capacity evaluations. It cited historical work by Platform researchers to argue for clinical reform and the American Medical Association (AMA) have now stated that their next Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment will remove race equations from lung function testing.
Second, we must approach digitisation with caution. We must carefully consider AI use in relation to its environmental impact and intellectual property misuse. Digital systems often replicate structural inequities. Any work to revolutionise these practices must put equality at the heart of systems which try to classify knowledge.
Third, we must expand what counts as health-related material culture. Health goes beyond medicine's visual and material cultures. We must include other forms of lived experience. Digital versions of objects and manuscripts are important for accessibility, but they differ from original collections. Hands-on work creates unique understandings.
We look forward to transforming the report's recommendations into sustainable practice.