About Us
The Sentience and Science Foundation connects two pillars (of being) that have become separated in our time: sentience and science. Sentience means our awareness and is more than an emergent feature of physical brain processes. Sentience affects matter, not (just) the other way around. Acceptance and understanding of the synergy between these two realms will help us create a more meaningful and sustainable world.
The Sentience and Science Foundation advises on scientific research of awareness and consciousness, and conducts its own research on consciousness and the role of awareness in science. The Foundation supports individuals and groups in developing their own awareness. The Foundation develops teaching materials, and teaches and lectures on consciousness and sentience, to all audiences.
The board of the Sentience and Science Foundation are Sarah Durston and Leonieke Terpstra. Sarah and Leonieke are lifelong friends. Sarah has a PhD in neuroscience and is a Professor at the University Medical Center Utrecht, and an honorary professor at the University of Central Lancashire (UK). She ran the UMCU NICHE-lab on brain development and developmental disorders for eighteen years and was a fellow at the University of Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Study in 2021 and 2022. Leonieke has a PhD in bone genetics, is a pediatrician (non-practicing) and child and adolescent psychiatrist. She works at Levvel in Amsterdam and Hilversum.