High School Students Compete in International Brain ‘Olympics’

A record number of National Brain Bee Champions from Wales, Italy, India, Kenya, Canada, Germany, Romania, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. met in Cape Town, South Africa, July 21-22 to compete in the 14th annual International Brain Bee Championship — the “Olympics” of neuroscience for high school students ages 14-18. Topics included brain functions such as sensations, intelligence, emotions, movement and consciousness, as well as brain dysfunctions such as Alzheimer’s, autism, and addictions, in addition to research techniques and medical technology.

The lead kept changing during this intense five-part competition, which included a neuroanatomy laboratory exam with real human brains, a diagnosis section with patient actors, a neurohistology test, case studies and a question-and-answer section. In the end, Australia’s Teresa Tang won by a one percent margin to be named 2012 World Brain Bee Champion. A student at Brisbane High School who represented Queensland, Tang enjoys working with artificial intelligence, and her career goals include neuroscience research and computers. Second place went to Ionut Flavius Bratu of Romania; third place went to Byung-Cheol Cho of New Zealand; fourth place went to Aiden Crank of the U.S.; and fifth place went to Shivam Panchal of India. Sixth place was a tie between Italy and the United Arab Emirates. Canada, Germany and Singapore all came in eighth place. Kenya, Wales, Malaysia and Nigeria followed, in that order.

The Brain Bee motivates youth to learn about the human brain, and inspires them to consider careers in neuroscience, psychology, neurology and related fields. Norbert Myslinski, PhD, of the University of Maryland is the founder and president of the grassroots organization, whose aim is “Building Better Brains to Fight Brain Disorders.” Each of the 150 Brain Bee chapters in 30 countries holds competitions involving tens of thousands of students. Each chapter winner competes in his or her respective National Championships. Each National Champion is invited to represent his or her country in the International Brain Bee Championship, which is held in a different country every year. This year’s event was sponsored by Dr. S. M. Raju, hosted by the International Congress of Psychology and supplied by the University of Cape Town. For more information about the International Brain Bee, click here.