Publications

Hijacking natural systems: a journey of discovery inside our cells

By: Jo Berry, Tim Self, Nick Holliday

In 2010 artist Jo Berry embarked on a period of research within the School of Biomedical Sciences at Nottingham University Medical School, alongside Tim Self and Dr Nicholas Holliday. Here they recount the experience of an artist working in a ’live’ scientific research environment, and the ways that the two disciplines of art and science can benefit each other to a wider audience.

Jo Berry approached me after finding my website which contained microscopy images from my scientific experiments. On meeting we connected immediately and Jo became fascinated by the image technologies through which University scientists study drug action (pharmacology). The Cell Signalling group in the School of Biomedical Sciences, of which Nick and I form part, has a world-class reputation in using microscopy to understand drugs and their target cell receptors. We quickly made the decision to look at ways of combining our mutual interests in scientific imaging and the arts. First we needed some money! Beginning in 2010, Jo, Nick and I designed a project to entice the public to examine art and our science with fresh eyes - which was then funded in part by the scientific research charity, the Wellcome Trust. The outstanding feature was that Jo should immerse herself in the science by first spending time as a researcher in Nick's laboratory in Cell Signalling. She used microscopy to study how ghrelin works - an appetite hormone that helps decide how much to eat, and which might in future be targeted by drugs to combat obesity. Being a digital artist Jo was able to...

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