Plastic Planet is a lavender sphere built from plastic waste from medical school and research labs at the Stanford School of Medicine. The assembled plaque assays resemble a planet, molecule, or atom, and the sculpture rests on a base of multicolored pipette boxes and viral testing units. Plastic Planet highlights a paradox at the heart of medical work: even as scientific labs produce research to better human health, the extensive plastic waste generated by their practice contributes to a massive public health threat. Plastic Planet was produced out of a creative partnership between Jean Shin and pediatric physician and infectious disease expert Dr. Desiree LaBeaud.