Igniting Innovation: Dr. Z on Tech, Art, & Identity
[Data Yap, Season 2, Episode 5]
Can we use comics to teach neuroscience and ignite curiosity one brain at a time?
Wrapping up LGBTQIA+ Pride month & also Caribbean Heritage month, Dr. Shaz Zamore (they/them) AKA Dr. Z is igniting innovation as an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder's ATLAS Institute and Founder of Craniate, a revolutionary project blending neuroscience, storytelling, and sci-fi.
Dr. Z is a Black queer, nonbinary neuroscientist, engineer, martial artist, entrepreneur, and creative multi-hyphenate shaping the future of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)! 🚀✨ They are also a proud descendant of Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica and Dominica.
In this inspiring episode, we explore how Dr. Z reimagines education through comics, creating inclusive tech for kids, and fighting for a better future—literally and figuratively. From kickboxing to classrooms, from Afrofuturism to inclusive teaching, Dr. Z brings heart, brilliance, and balance to every space they enter. If you’re into innovation, equity, science, or speculative fiction—you’ll want to hear this. 🌈🧠⚡
Episode Highlights:
Craniate and the Science Comic ProjectDr. Shaz is developing Craniate, a creative STEAM education company centered around a comic that teaches neuroscience and related fields through a diverse cast of superpowered characters. The project blends scientific accuracy with imaginative storytelling to inspire curiosity and learning in kids.
Hope Through Community and LegacyShaz emphasizes cultivating hope as a practice, drawing strength from ancestral survival, Gen Z and Gen Alpha's open-mindedness, and the passionate work of others addressing systemic crises. Their perspective bridges past resilience with a hopeful, proactive future.
Martial Arts as Life PhilosophyTrained in Jeet Kune Do and boxing, Shaz uses martial arts not only for physical discipline but as a framework for navigating academic, professional, and personal challenges—emphasizing balance, response over reaction, and fighting only when necessary.
From creating science-based comics to building inclusive tech for kids, Dr. Z shares how they synthesize data, emotion, identity, and community to inform their decisions and reimagine the future. If you’re into innovation, creative thinking, or systems-level change, this one's for you.
Watch to explore how curiosity, critical thinking, and courage shape the way we build—and fight for—a better world.
Check out Dr. Z’s website (including Craniate) here:
If you’re into the outdoors, check out the award-winning book that Dr. Z co-edited with Amber Wendler, “Been Outside Adventures of Black Women, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming People in Nature”:
Awards their book has earned:
2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medal Winner - LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction
2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist in LGBTQ+ Adult Nonfiction
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Can we use comics to teach neuroscience and ignite curiosity one brain at a time?
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THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! Education through art and story telling will always have my heart and I hearing about qualified peeps creating these essential tools for our littles.
"STEAM education company centered around a comic that teaches neuroscience and related fields through a diverse cast of superpowered characters. The project blends scientific accuracy with imaginative storytelling to inspire curiosity and learning in kids."