Honoring Jack Banks, PhD: Celebrating four years of innovation, collaboration, and lasting impact

After four years at UTHealth Houston Institute on Aging, Jack Banks, PhD, is leaving Houston to begin a new position with Bupa in London, as head of clinical insights. Banks will provide strategic leadership for the organization's clinical intelligence and foresight efforts across its global operations. 

For those who have worked with Banks over the past four years, the announcement is both exciting and bittersweet. 

Since joining the Institute on Aging in 2022 as the inaugural Nancy Guinee Postdoctoral Research Fellow under the mentorship of Aanand Naik, MD, Banks has become an integral member of the institute's research team. His work has focused on advancing Patient Priorities Care while exploring how digital health and artificial intelligence can improve care for older adults. 

Among his most significant contributions was helping lead the development and evaluation of PrioritiesAI, an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot designed to help older adults identify and communicate what matters most to them before surgical consultations. Banks managed many aspects of the project, including participant recruitment, data collection, analysis, and implementation, helping move the work from concept to clinical research. 

His scholarship has also helped raise the profile of the Institute on Aging. Banks served as first author on a paper published in JAMA Network Open and co-authored five additional peer-reviewed publications during his fellowship. He presented research at conferences throughout the United States and Europe, sharing the institute's work with national and international audiences. 

Jack has grown tremendously during his time as a post-doc at UTHealth Houston.  He has taken on a wide range of projects and contributed to the growth and success of the Patient Priorities Care lab.  I'm appreciative of his participation in the early development of the Institute on Aging.  We are excited for Jack as he takes on his next great challenge and adventure. Godspeed Jack - Aanand Naik, MD 

While his research accomplishments are substantial, colleagues say what they'll remember most is the way Banks approached his work. 

Whether mentoring students, collaborating across research teams, or stepping in to help a colleague, Banks earned a reputation for being dependable, thoughtful, and generous with his time. His curiosity, steady approach to problem-solving, and willingness to support others made him someone people naturally wanted to work with. 

It's been great getting to work alongside Jack. He's been such a valuable part of the team, always willing to help, bring a positive attitude, and put in the work. He's accomplished so much here, and it's been awesome to see everything he's achieved. While we're definitely going to miss him, I'm so proud of him for taking this next step and landing his dream job. I know he's going to do great things, and I can't wait to see what's next for him. Wishing you all the best, Jack, you deserve it.

-Lariza McBean 

Outside the institute, Banks became an active member of Houston's Irish community. He served on the executive committee of the Houston Gaels Gaelic Football Club, played for the men's team, and taught free Irish language classes for three years. He also organized community events that brought Irish families together throughout the Houston area. 

His contributions were recognized beyond Houston. In March 2025, he met Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) during a diplomatic visit to Austin in recognition of his work promoting Irish language and culture. 

Reflecting on his time at the Institute on Aging, Banks said the opportunity shaped both his career and his future. 

"I'm enormously grateful to Dr. Naik and everyone at the IOA for four of the most incredible years. The personal and professional growth I've been afforded, since Dr. Naik took a chance on me as a fresh PhD graduate back in 2022, is beyond words. 

"The opportunity to work on large clinical trials and innovative pilots, to receive mentorship from world-renowned scientists to mentor graduate students of my own, and to be part of such a strong postdoctoral community—these are the experiences that have prepared me for this next step. 

"It's bittersweet to be leaving Houston and this team. I hope to stay in touch, and I will be grateful for the opportunity I was given here. 

"Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir." 

(Irish for "A thousand thanks to you all.") 

As Banks prepares for his move to London, colleagues are celebrating an accomplished researcher whose work has strengthened the Institute on Aging while wishing him and his partner, Steph, the very best in the years ahead. Although his next opportunity takes him across the Atlantic, the projects he helped build and the relationships he developed will remain an important part of the Institute on Aging.