Health & Science Communication

Zach Bandler presenting at UCSF, at a Creative Brain Week event in Dublin, Ireland, with the Land of the Young poster at Alzheimer's Association conference in Mexico City, and at the U.S. Embassy film premiere in Kinshasa.
 
 

Storytelling that helps complex ideas reach the people who need to act on them.

I’m a filmmaker whose work has increasingly moved into health and science. Since 2022, when I became an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Trinity College Dublin, I’ve worked at the intersection of storytelling and brain health: translating research into narrative, designing workshops that bring scientists, clinicians, and the people they serve into the same room, and making films that move audiences to care and to act.

UCSF Memory and Aging Center | Miller Artist in Residence, 2025-2026
The inaugural artist in residence. I present to scientific and clinical audiences and design workshops that teach scientists and clinicians to explain complex ideas to non-specialists. My residency program Cinematic Empathy: The Art of Socially Conscious Film explores how filmmaking intersects with brain health, including its ethical, emotional, and neurological dimensions.

Land of the Young | “Nothing about us without us”
With a $25,000 pilot award from the Global Brain Health Institute and the Alzheimer’s Association, I co-facilitated a participatory workshop in Ireland for my project Land of the Young (winner, 2023 American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition). People living with dementia, care partners, and clinicians took part as authors of the story, not subjects of it.

Koko Suzanne | Brain-health advocacy film, Democratic Republic of Congo
I led this film from concept to production, securing institutional and philanthropic support, aligning stakeholders across healthcare, government, and academia, and managing a 60+ person international production. Koko Suzanne was acquired by CANAL+ and premiered on CANAL+ Afrique in November 2025.

Research & Publication
Dasgupta J, Furlano JA, Bandler Z (co-first authors), et al. “Hope for brain health: impacting the life course and society.” Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1214014 (2023).

Training & Fellowships
Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin (2022)
Postgraduate Certificate in Brain Health, Trinity College Dublin (2023)

Work With Me
I’m interested in strategic communications, narrative strategy, and thought leadership for health and science organizations.
zach.bandler@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/zachbandler