Sapien Labs is a non-profit research organisation founded in 2016 with the mission of understanding and enabling the human mind. Headquartered in the Washington, DC area, it operates with a globally distributed research team. The organisation studies how rapidly changing social, technological and environmental conditions influence brain function and mental wellbeing.

Its work focuses on generating large-scale scientific insights into human cognition and mental health. Sapien Labs emphasises global participation and open research, aiming to build a broad evidence base on how modern life shapes mental wellbeing across populations.

Mission and focus areas

Sapien Labs seeks to understand how social, cultural, technological and lifestyle factors influence the human brain and mind. Its research examines the drivers of declining mental wellbeing, particularly among younger populations, and aims to identify preventative strategies that support healthier societies.

A central focus is population-scale neuroscience and mind health research. By analysing global data on cognitive, emotional and social functioning, the organisation studies how factors such as technology use, diet, social relationships and environment affect mental wellbeing.

Structure and governance

Sapien Labs operates as an independent non-profit organisation with a globally distributed team working across several continents. Scientific leadership is provided by founder and Chief Scientist Dr Tara Thiagarajan, a neuroscientist whose work focuses on environmental influences on brain function and mental health.

Research initiatives are supported by academic collaboration and advisory oversight. For example, the Global Mind Project is guided by an academic advisory committee that reviews research design, privacy controls and methodological updates to ensure the scientific integrity and ethical use of data.

Programs and offerings

Sapien Labs’ flagship initiative is the Global Mind Project, a large-scale research programme that tracks mind health and wellbeing across populations worldwide. The project collects data through the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ), an online assessment measuring multiple dimensions of cognitive, emotional and social functioning.

The organisation maintains one of the largest global datasets on mind health, with millions of anonymised responses from participants across dozens of countries. This data is made available to academic, government and non-profit researchers to support further study of mental wellbeing trends and their underlying drivers.

Sapien Labs also produces research publications and reports such as the Global Mind Health report, which analyses worldwide trends in mental wellbeing. These outputs aim to inform researchers, policymakers and organisations working on mental health, education and social development.

Our mission is motivated by:

• The curiosity of us all to understand ourselves and our similarities and differences.
• An imperative to understand the impact and consequences of our changing environment and technology on the dynamical function of the human brain, particularly in the context of rising mental health concerns and growing inequality.
• A belief that the understanding of the brain and mind belongs to us all and that globally inclusive participation is essential.