Metaphors and concepts (2)

Today’s ideas are all about routes, travelling, and journeying. Some seem to be so commonplace that they are not really thought about as metaphors at all. And I’m also beginning to pick out metaphors that are more clearly ‘metaphorical’ and used deliberately because of their non-scientific connotations.

Concepts in a cancer context

Many of my descriptions about how these relate to cancer are drawn from a fascinating conversation with the Biology of Childhood Leukaemia team in a discussion about the role of gene TP53 in regulating cancer and the effects of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) on cancer evolution.

“Pathways”

Steps in the process that govern a cellular system. For example, the TP53 pathway is the one that a cell goes through in terms of whether it is ‘allowed’ to replicate, is sent to be fixed or if it is earmarked to die.

An example of how a pathway is illustrated – this one centred on the P53 protein generated by the TP53 gene

“Gateway”

On a pathway there can be a gateway, such as the gateway that cells go through on the TP53 pathway, for example, in order to know if they should go forward to replicate or stop and die. This is a gateway that can become very ineffective in cancer – cancer cells do not die in the same way as normal cells – and may be related to changes or mutations of the TP53 gene.

“Bottleneck”

A point at which many cells fail and a few pass through such as in the toxic environment at the centre of a tumour where the majority of cells die but one or two may replicate with mutations that allow them to survive.

“Signalling”

How cancer cells communicate with surrounding cells. Eg, they can signal to the body to grow more blood vessels to a tumour. Signals can be proximal (ie next door with surface proteins) or longer range chemical (eg with hormones etc).

“Rite of Passage”

This is a more specific metaphor drawn from one of the papers of the Childhood Leukemias Team. This metaphor represents the point of no return in cancer. Specifically, the ‘rite of passage’ in the paper refers to the the point at which the TP53 mutation allows cells to transition through EMT and launch themselves into the rest of the body. THis is the point where cancer metastasises, after which the hopes of ‘cure’ are drastically diminished. A rite of passage indeed.

How all this relates to the London Cancer Hub

While talking to ICR researchers the idea of spatial movement came up frequently, both in terms of their research and about their personal movements around the site and around London. While it seemed to me that in terms of the site, they concentrated on the ICR part of the campus, several mentioned how walking past or through hospital buildings either as part of their journey to work, or to collect samples or meet with clinicians, reminded them of the ultimate purposes of their work. This was especially true when they cam into direct contact with patients, even if this was just seeing or passing them on their own pathways,

Movement around the LCH was not the only example of establishing pathways in a very literal sense. Several researchers also told me about their regularly trodden routes around London as part of their work. For example, one scientist talked about how at one stage in her work she was travelling frequently – occasionally daily – on a circuit between the Sutton ICR, the Chelsea ICR and the Imperial College campus at White City. Interestingly, her work was heavily focused on identifying the spatial arrangements of different cell types in tumours, which are ‘barcoded’ to keep track of their position. We chatted about the possibilities of tracking the movements of researchers in a similar way. I would love to track some staff across the site and see what visual mappings came out of the exercise. I’ll be posting more about the site, its history and pathways through it in a forthcoming post…

And the ‘rite of passage’ for the LCH? I could interpret that in so many ways, so I am going to hold back and see what else emerges,

Metaphors and concepts (1)

It was immediately clear to me from initial conversations with researchers how closely tied the idea of a cancer ecosystem is to basic Darwinian principles. So the first set of ideas that I am highlighting here are those that many of us learned when coming across the idea of evolution in the first place – such common knowledge that we take many of these ideas and their applications for granted.

Concepts in cancer ecosystem

One of the first things that came up in a couple of conversations with research scientists was for them to double-check that I understood the importance of the three basic ideas from the Darwinian theory of evolution. In the context of cancer research, however, these Darwinian ideas have context specific nuance. I have made notes of my own understanding of what these terms suggest in cancer science. (As ever, any errors are fully due to my own interpretation….)

“Heterogeneity“

Variety within the cancer in terms of different types of cell – in particular this can be spatial (ie cells vary due to situation in different places in a tumour) or evolutionary (cells occur at different times in the life of a cancer)

“Fitness“

The ability of certain cell genotypes or phenotypes to reproduce and survive in certain environments – for example a certain cancer cell pheno- or genotype might survive oxygen-deprived conditions better than another cancer cell within the same tumour

“Selection“

Darwinian principle that the fittest cells in a particular context will go on to reproduce and dominate the population – in terms of a cancer, different cell pheno- or genotypes will survive more successfully in different parts of the tumour, for example, and will reproduce there whilst others fail to thrive.

Relevance to the ecosystem of the LCH

These three basic evolutionary principles can easily be applied to working life within organisations also. Heterogeneity could be thought of as some kind of parallel to diversity in a working environment. Selection is a common organisational idea, whether for recruitment or promotion, and often governs people’s progress or longevity in a role or career. And this selection often happens informally as well as through formal process – many practices which can result in either privilege or discrimination in working (or other) settings are grounded in informal selection practices. And the related concept ‘survival of the fittest’ is not unfamiliar either, and I’m sure informs portrayals of workplaces as part of popular culture. I am reminded of a film with George Clooney about ‘downsizing’ but can’t quite remember what it’s called and whether survival of the fittest is ever specifically mentioned – my next job is to google that….

The role of metaphors

I think I may have already shared that something that particularly interests me for this project – and in my wider work – is the metaphors we use to explain things. Some of these metaphors are so deeply engrained in our language that we no longer even notice they are metaphors. However, when you are an outsider trying to understand something new, the metaphors somehow stand out much more clearly. That’s one of the things I particularly enjoy about working with scientific themes as a non-scientist – the metaphors tend to stand out loud and clear.

One of the principle ways that I am approaching this work is to identify some of the key metaphors that explain cancer as part of a living ecology and the processes that form part of that ecology. That’s why it has been such a joy to be able to talk to the researchers who are doing this work, and not just read scientific paperwork. Although research papers do also contain many useful metaphorical ways of describing their content, I tend to find the richest language when in conversation face to face where we can explore the ideas that emerge in more detail and I can follow particular paths to see where they lead. The wonderful Professor Sir Mel Greaves, who I have been lucky enough to speak to as part of this project, observed that he finds he uses metaphor extensively when talking to a lay audience as he finds this is a most effective way to convey his ideas with real impact.

My hypothesis is that using these metaphors in my artwork will also communicate some complex or unfamiliar ideas more intuitively. That’s where I’m headed with this work and many of the following posts will be based around the metaphors that I’m interested in understanding and pursuing.

Researching concepts from cancer ecosystems

One of the initial priorities for my ‘Evolving the Ecosystem’ project was to learn about some of the key ideas and concepts that underpin the study of cancer as an ecosystem. I also want to get to grips with how they might be applied to the work of the teams at the LCH. So my first series of meetings at the LCH have been primarily focused on researchers at the Institute of Cancer Resarch (ICR) who have generously explained the thinking behind their research, sharing ideas and research papers and painstakingly explaining complex biology to a non biologist. First off, I am very grateful to all who met with me from the Biology of Childhood Leukaemia team and from the Centre for Evolution and Cancer teams and who spent time with me on my visits in late September and early October. I am not planning to record the content of each of the conversations here, just to say that they were incredibly illuminating and introduced me to a wealth of ideas around cancer ecosystems.

Darwin’s ‘I think’, mounted outside offices at the ICR

From these discussions I have started to draw out some of the concepts that I think may be useful going forward to inform my artwork. Scattered through future posts I will be sharing selections of the concepts and metaphors I am encountering, with my interpretation of their meaning in the context of cancer, in the context of organisation, or better still, both. I would emphasise here, though, that all the interpretations I am sharing are mine. They may be drawn from conversations with researchers and others but if they are full of errors or misunderstandings, those are entirely my own responsibility.

Visiting the ICR and the LCH Site

My first visit to the Institute of Cancer Research was utterly fascinating both in terms of developing an understanding of key concepts about the ecology of cancer and of getting a sense of the London Cancer Hub itself. I was lucky enough to meet with researchers from two different teams and was slightly punch drunk with ideas and information by the end of the day. Rather than write about the meetings here one by one, I plan to use this blog to think about some of the concepts and ideas and how they might translate into relevant artwork. These will unfold over future posts. This post is actually about my first visit to the site in concrete terms, how i found it, how it looked and how it felt to be there for the first time.

The LCH is near Belmont in Sutton. I was unfamiliar with my route to it by road, or the lie of the land around the LCH. I was surprised to come across the site as i was making my way through a warren of residential streets; the LCH nestles amongst the housing, mostly hidden from view.

The first buildings I saw as I came onto the LCH site (via the signposts to the ICR – there are a variety of access points) were some old brick Hospital buildings, presumably Victorian and presumably part of the Royal Marsden, past or present? The bulk of the original Royal Marsden on this site is actually midcentury, and was officially opened in 1963, but I couldn’t see much of that from my approach. I carried on past towards the ICR.

As I carried on down the access road, I came to the new ICR campus – brand spanking new buildings set in flat green parkland, some of which is earmarked for further development.

From windows of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery you can get something of the lie of the land. As well as being able to look over many of the different constituent parts of the Royal Marsden, it’s also possible to view the Innovation Gateway site – still very much a work in progress.

I spent pretty much all my day in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery where I had meetings in the purpose built meeting rooms as well as having a chance to talk to some researchers in their offices and to look at the labs used by the Cancer Evolution team.

As one might expect, everything was subject to secure access – you needed a pass to get into any of the buildings, and each of the office areas and also clearly the labs required a pass to access them. I was struck by the contrast between corridors and meeting rooms, which both felt a bit stark, mainly quiet and empty, and the offices and labs which were busier both with people and with papers or equipment. In the labs I got to borrow white and blue lab coats, depending on area, to adhere to the health and safety protocols. Odd how much it felt like dressing up.

As we walked around between meetings I was trying to get my bearings (and anyone who knows me knows that’s a feat – I could get lost in a small box) but even more, I wanted to take in the feel of the place. It’s much too early to do anything here other than record very first impressions, but those impressions are very much of a work in progress, a stitching together of the very old, the very new, and all the things that came in between. It gave me a real insight as to where the project stands at the moment; the LCH is not so much an entity as an idea that is beginning to take physical shape.

And that led me to question how far the LCH is also taking organisational shape – is that totally conceptual still or is it having any impact on working practice?

‘Evolving the Ecosystem’

My residency at the London Cancer Hub will be spent working on a project I have called ‘Evolving the Ecosystem’. A central goal of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) strategy is to unravel the cancer ecosystem; cancers develop and grow very much as part of the environments of our bodies, and a priority for research at the ICR is to understand the mechanisms by which our individual or common internal bodily ecosystems govern whether cancers thrive or fail.

I was inspired by how the concepts we draw from ecology affect not only how a disease progresses, but potentially also how organisations thrive or fail in response to their environments. Below is an extract of the project proposal I put together to explain the research that I want to do whilst on this residency.

“Cancers have increasingly been seen as part of the complex ecology of the body rather than as diseases where rogue cells or tumours can be understood in isolation. Research scientists and clinicians are now focusing on investigating the characteristics and mechanisms of this ecology to find new ways to control or eliminate cancer. The conceptual framework of the ecology of cancer – and how to unravel it – has proved so useful that it now forms a central plank of the Institute of Cancer Research’s (ICR’s) current strategy.

Organisations too can be understood as ecologies. The London Cancer Hub (LCH) brings together a cross section of organisations working towards a synergistic set of goals, forming its own complex ecosystem, an ecosystem aiming to create an impact which is greater than the sum of its parts. How the constituent organisations – involving research scientists, businesses, clinicians, educators, carers and patients – collaborate across the new Hub to achieve this can similarly be viewed as an endeavour to develop a healthy ecosystem.

For this project I want to investigate these parallel ecologies side by side, drawing on frameworks and metaphors usually confined to the scientific context to explore what we can learn about the development of a culture and environment within which the potential for research, treatment and prevention can thrive.

The artwork emerging from the project would act both as an expression of the learning from the project and as a stimulus for further conversation going forward about how to build our capacity to tackle cancer. In addition, the stories gathered along the way would capture a moment in the history of cancer research and in the development of the LCH”.

I hope this conveys some of my ideas behind the project – which will surely also evolve as the project progresses. And if you have any thoughts about this that you’d like to discuss, do get in touch…..

The London Cancer Hub

I am truly thrilled to have been awarded an artist residency with the London Cancer Hub. The London Cancer Hub is the collective name for the new site in Sutton which brings together a number of leading organisations in cancer research, such as the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, along with other key players such as innovative biotech and drug development companies that form part of the Innovation Gateway, and the Harris Academy, a STEM-focused Sutton comprehensive school. The intention is to create a global centre of excellence for cancer innovation.

The residency, part of the Sutton STEAMs Ahead programme and funded by a major Cultural Impact Award, will allow me to spend several months researching and developing new artwork for a project I am calling ‘Evolving the Ecosystem’

I spent my first day at the London Cancer Hub last week, and will be posting regularly about all the things I am learning and how these translate into the prototype artwork I’ll be making as part of the residency. It will be wonderful to share this voyage of discovery with anyone who wants to come along for the ride!

Coming soon….

I am delighted to say that I shall shortly be starting a new project, another collaboration about which I am very excited, so I will be posting again regularly to record my research and learning as I create and develop a new series of artwork. Watch this space to hear more in the very near future!

Diorama 1 – the finished piece!

The final piece, called Diorama 1, was finished at the end of 2020, but because of the coronavirus situation it has not yet been possible to take the artwork to Leeds to be displayed at St James’ Hospital. However, we decided it would be good to start sharing online rather than waiting until it goes on physical display, so here is a selection of pictures….

Images are by Robyn Manning Photography, who can be found on Instagram as @robyn_manning_photos. I am extremely grateful to Robyn for her patience in setting up everything so that the Diorama looks its best – thanks Robyn!

I thought it might also be interesting for people to see an example of the transition of lighting of the vesicles – this video was taken on my phone, so don’t blame Robyn for the ‘blown out’ exposure of the illuminated vesicles….

A timelapse video showing one variation of the lighting transitions from a full day

All Lit Up

From quite an early conversation with the team, the intention had been for the vesicles to be lit up, but what was less clear was how this was to be achieved. We had discussed how it would be great for the lighting to change throughout the day, both to compensate for the piece being placed in a position without natural light (the CRF waiting areas are not naturally lit) and also to add interest to the piece.

I liked the idea of internal lighting and a transition across the day, finding it wonderfully consistent with the idea of a traditional diorama, as these often included their own interior lighting to draw in the viewer. One of the big questions for me, though, was how to programme the timings on the lighting, not being particularly competent in that area.

I did briefly learn how to use Arduinos, but it was a while ago and I would have had to start again from scratch to make it work. Also, all the restrictions of Covid made it harder to contemplate outsourcing this part of the project, as did the available budget. The answer came in the surprising form of aquarium controllers. These controllers are designed to make sure that aquarium fish are not shocked by the sudden switching on of the lights in the morning or the switching off in the evening and allow you to programme a series of sunrises and sunsets across the day.

Constructing the stands so that the glass elements were lit internally was initially a case of testing lots of different types of 12V lights of the kind often used for caravans or countertops. Eventually I found some that I was happy with and set about mounting them so that the lights would be correctly positioned within the vesicles. Lots of cases of trial and error as I went along and once again aquarium supplies came to the rescue, this time in the form of clear flexible tubing that holds the lights in the right place.

Finally, after wiring, soldering and finishing the full construction of the piece, I could programme the lights in the vesicles. They can each be set to gradually come on at different intensities across the day to draw attention to different parts of the diorama.

Meanwhile, another challenge was to light the Z Stack. I achieved this through feeding an LED strip through the length of the stand I had created for the stack, with holes strategically drilled to let light through. For me, this layered lighting enhances the analogy of the Z Stack itself, and how the microscopy and computation processes build a whole form from slices of data.

To see a timelapse of one lighting scheme for the finished artwork, have a look at a forthcoming post of images of the final piece!