Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowship (360G-Wellcome-203993_Z_16_Z)

Why is life in the first person? There is nothing more fundamental to the human condition than the question of consciousness, at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our existence. Without consciousness there is simply nothing at all: no world, no self, nothing. People have wondered about consciousness since they’ve wondered about anything, but the relationship between conscious experience and biological wetware has remained perplexing, to scientists and clinicians, to philosophers and artists, indeed to everyone who has ever wondered at being at the centre of one’s own ‘inner universe’. At the same time, society is witnessing a vast increase in psychiatric and neurological illnesses – the edges of consciousness – which are poorly understood and inadequately treated. My vision is to combine pioneering research and public engagement (PE) to transform our understanding of the biological basis of consciousness in health and in illness, and in doing so, to reframe the way we – all of us – encounter being human. Following Copernicus and Darwin, deciphering the biological basis of consciousness will help us see ourselves as part of, and not apart from, the rest of nature. The scientific, medical, and cultural ramifications of these developments are dramatic, even extending beyond the human condition to change the way we see non-human animals and future intelligent machinery. The science is already happening, with my research group among the pioneers. I will ensure the wider public not only comes along for the ride, but also becomes actively involved in shaping the research we do and the conclusions we draw. We are all conscious, so this matters to everyone. I see a unique opportunity in combining my distinctively broad range of influential research with my already impactful PE activities. Presently, with few exceptions, most high-level PE comes from individuals dedicated to science communication, while most high-level scientists necessarily focus on research with PE activities treated as secondary. My vision is for a distinctive brand of high-quality PE made possible by my being simultaneously active at the highest levels of the relevant research. I am uniquely qualified to achieve and sustain this vision. I have published influential papers across a very broad range of topics in consciousness science ( > 100 papers published, h-index 40, see attached CV), and as editor of the academic journal Neuroscience of Consciousness I enjoy a broad field overview. In addition, I have already demonstrated a strong PE track record across many domains (see supplementary information, SI). These contributions provide the ideal platform from which I can realize my vision of research-led PE to transform our scientific and public understanding of the biology of consciousness. My vision encompasses informing and exciting the public about consciousness science through a variety of formats, engaging with clinical practitioners across psychiatry and neurology to develop a greater mutual appreciation for how consciousness science can inform diagnosis and treatment, and ensuring that consciousness science as a discipline becomes increasingly established as a central field within the mind and brain sciences.