Lab Coat Lunch 1: Bringing together glass art and tissue engineering to improve cancer care

Interested in the breadth of visual and material practice in healthcare? Keen to learn more about methodological innovation, critical enquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration? The ‘Lab Coat Lunches’ series will highlight diverse and often hidden methods and approaches from clinical, academic and community practice.

Brought to you by the Visual and Material Lab, Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities, Durham University. To subscribe to the Visual and Material Lab's newsletter, please visit our Lab site and scroll to the bottom of the page.

In this Lab Coat Lunch, Matt Durran will talk about his work with the Royal Free Hospital in London combining modern technologies with traditional crafts techniques. This collaboration with a team of clinicians, cell biologists, material scientists, and engineers used Matt’s expertise in the medium of glass to improve the tissue engineering process for cancer patients requiring human tissue transplants. His role was to create glass moulds that would act as support cast to grow tissue prior to its use in the body, primarily for noses, ears and even voice boxes. This project is an example of the transformative potential of artistic, scientific and clinical practice when brought together, and how a shared language can develop between different industries and disciplines.

About Matt

Matt Durran is an artist, curator and educator. He is widely experienced in international projects that involve collaboration and interdisciplinarity. This began at the end of the Cold War and the subsequent opening up of Europe, when he was instrumental in fostering collaborations in symposia and exhibitions in Central and Eastern Europe. This practice has expanded around the globe, focused on developing ways for scientists and artists to work together on contemporary issues, such as sustainability, upcycling and medical innovation.

Read more about the Royal Free project at Matt Durran – The Artist Pioneering Nose Reconstruction Surgery - Havas Lynx, and about Matt’s wider work on his website.

This event is free to attend. Please note that the Zoom link will be circulated closer to the date.

Explore the full Lab Coat Lunches 2026 programme:

Wednesday 4th February 2026, 1-2pm

Lab Coat Lunch 1: Bringing together glass art and tissue engineering to improve cancer care (Matt Durran, glass artist)

Wednesday 25th March, 1-2pm

Lab Coat Lunch 2: Maternal Machines and other fantasies of care (Paulina Yurman, designer and researcher)

Wednesday 29th April, 1-2pm

Lab Coat Lunch 3: After the War – Arts and film practice in hospice care (Steve Geliot, visual artist)

Wednesday 13th May, 1-2pm

Lab Coat Lunch 4: Combining 3D bioengineering technologies and arts practice for patient engagement (Giovanni Biglino, bioengineer)

Wednesday 8th July, 1-2pm

Lab Coat Lunch 5: SOUL PAINT: Where are you feeling? (Sarah Ticho, immersive reality designer)