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

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.