Third Annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee
McMaster University, May 28 and 29, 2010
CIHR Associate DirectorEric Marcotte stands amidst some of the brightest brains in Canada
during the third annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee Championship at
McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Saturday, May 29, 2010.
The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Simon Wilson
We have our top three winners!
1. Linda Zhu, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph
2. Kerry Sun, Old Scona Academic School, Edmonton
3. Elena Mamycheva, York Memorial Collegiate Institute, Toronto
Congratulations to all our competitors for a very well played day, we are proud of everyone!
On May 29th the top high school students from
across Canada will be at McMaster University to compete for the right to be
called the best brain in Canada.These
are the students who won their regional competitions, so we already know they
are the top of their class.They have
been studying for weeks to prepare for challenging events that will test their
knowledge of neuroscience and their skills at patient diagnosis and
neuroanatomy.On May 29th one
of these students will rise above the others to take the championship.
There are great prizes and recognition:1st, 2nd, and 3rd
place winners will take home trophies and well as $1500, $1000, and $500
scholarship awards.The very top student
will also take home a travelling trophy to display at their school for one
year, and will be given the opportunity to work as a summer intern in a
neuroscience laboratory.The challenge
is not over for the best brain in Canada -- this 1st place champion
will represent Canada at the International Brain Bee (IBB) on August 12-15, 2010,
which will be held in San Diego, California. The IBB will be hosted by the American Psychological Association during their
annual conference.
The Annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee is hosted by the
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB) at McMasterUniversity.
This year there are 12 regional Brain Bees
across Canada; local winners will be coming from competitions held in Calgary,
Edmonton, Guelph, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s,
Toronto, Vancouver, and Waterloo.
The twelve 2010 regional champions are (alphabetically by first name): Elena Mamycheva, York Memorial Collegiate Institute, representing Toronto, Ontario Isuri Herath, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, representing Ottawa, Ontario Jodeci Malixi, MacDonald High School, representing Montreal, Quebec Kerry Sun, Old Scona Academic School, representing Edmonton, Alberta Linda Zhu, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, representing Guelph, Ontario Ling-Sang Tse, Earl Haig Secondary School, representing Waterloo, Ontario Lucas Sweetland, Carbonear Collegiate, representing St. John's, Newfoundland Maria Seraj, Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School, representing Hamilton, Ontario Nick O'Leary, Prince Andrew High School, representing Halifax, Nova Scotia Parnian Riaz, Peace River High School, representing Calgary, Alberta Pie Jun Zhao, London Central Secondary School,
representing London, Ontario Yesha Ouyang, Fraser Heights Secondary School, representing Vancouver, British Columbia
Dr. Judith Shedden, an Associate Professor in PNB, is the
Chair of the CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee Committee.Shedden stated, “An important goal of the
Brain Bee is to reach out to our extended communities to share what we are
doing in our laboratories, and to encourage these bright young minds to consider
a career in brain research.”
It appears to be paying off. Many Brain Bee competitors and
winners have gone on to careers in medicine and neuroscience.
“The Brain Bee laid the foundation,” says Sanket Ullal, who is
starting his fourth year in Biology at McMaster. “The knowledge and inspiration I gained from
competing in the Brain Bee has given me an edge in research and school projects.”
Ayan Dey is starting his fourth year in the Psychology and Neuroscience
program.“The brain bee was my first
real exposure to the field of neuroscience and I’ve been hooked ever since. It is the reason I'm currently in the
neuroscience program here at McMaster - a decision I definitely do not regret.”
Sean Amodeo, who won the Toronto regional brain bee and was the first place champion in the 2009 CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee, is in his first year in Health Sciences at McMaster, and says “the
Brain Bee represented an opportunity to learn about one of the most rapidly
growing areas of science.The brain bee
inspired my interest in neuroscience and led to my goal to pursue a career in
brain research.”
The CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee is supported nationally
by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR).“Again this year, CIHR is proud to sponsor
the third annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee,” said Dr. Anthony
Phillips, Scientific Director at the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental
Health and Addiction. “This championship allows the brightest students in
Canada to gather and measure their knowledge about the brain, the most complex
structure in the known universe. It is essential for CIHR to encourage these talented
students to get involved in science, since they represent the future in this
field.”
The McMaster team of volunteers, led by local organizers Dr. Judith
Shedden, Dr. Joe Kim, Chris McAllister, Matt Pachai, and Katherine Holshausen
includes staff, students, and faculty from the Department of Psychology,
Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB) and the McMaster Institute for Neuroscience
Discovery and Study (MiNDS), and with support from the McMaster Faculty of
Science.Critical to the success of the
national brain bee is the generous donation of hours and resources from the
Centre for Simulation-Based Learning at McMaster (patient diagnosis test: Brad
High), and the McMaster Educational Program in Anatomy (neuroanatomy
bell-ringer exam: Dr. Alexander Ball and
Dr. Laurie Doering).
What is a Brain Bee?
The Brain Bee is a competition for high school students,
grades 9 through 12. Students study topics on memory, sleep, intelligence,
emotion, perception, stress, aging, brain-imaging, neurology,
neurotransmitters, genetics, and brain disease (just to list a few). It is
designed to stimulate interest and excitement about the brain and neuroscience
research and it is an exciting opportunity for high school students. The International Brain Bee was established in the 90's by Dr. Norbert Myslinski at the University of Maryland. The brain bee brings the students to the local
university in their region to meet students and professors who are doing brain
research.It is an avenue of
communication, through media and students, to raise awareness of brain research
in the community.It is a mechanism to
attract bright young minds to the study of neuroscience.
Shedden said “Neuroscience research is one of the great
frontiers of scientific research.It is
leading to an understanding of our own thinking and behaviour.Our goal is to reach out to our local
Canadian communities to communicate a strong message about the importance of
this kind of research, and to inspire our future scientists.”
McMaster University, one of four Canadian
universities listed among the Top 100 universities in the world, is renowned
for its innovation in both learning and discovery. It has a student population
of 23,000, and more than 140,000 alumni in 128 countries.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission
is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into
improved health, more effective health services and products, and a
strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides
leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees
across Canada.
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Competitors can plan to arrive on Friday. Activities will be
complete by late Saturday afternoon. For study details and resources
and a rough schedule, follow the "Organizers" link above and click on
"Preparing for the National". Study details and lots of other
information is posted there.
Second Annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee
McMaster University, May 29-30, 2009
Congratulations to all our contestants for a truly amazing show!
The competition was fierce and very tight. Any one of these brilliant students could represent Canada, we were so impressed with the high level of knowledge and poise -- there was no doubt that we were in the presense of tomorrow's neuroscientists.
But in the end, there can be only one!
Our first place winner, CIHR Canadian Brain Bee Champion, is Sean Amodeo from Toronto.
In very close second place is Liwei Li from Guelph.
And following a close third is Sofia Essayan-Perez from Montreal.
Highlight Video
From 13 Local Brain Bee competitions across Canada, from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, high school student champions will come to McMaster University to represent their home towns at the CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee (CCNBB). Each one will be competing for the right to be called the Best Brain in Canada.
These are our future Neuroscientists!
CCNBB Competitors for 2009 are:
Representing:
Calgary, Alberta: Audrey Cheung
Edmonton, Alberta: Jenny Lou
Guelph, Ontario: Liwei Li
Halifax, Nova Scotia: Iwona Borycz
Hamilton, Ontario: Julia Shin
Kingston, Ontario: Jeremy Wang
London, Ontario: Stella Park
Montreal, Quebec: Sofia Essayan-Perez
St. John's, Newfoundland: Michael Sloan
Toronto, Ontario: Sean Amodeo
Vancouver, British Columbia: Paul Lao
Waterloo, Ontario: Nafisa Tasnim
It is an exciting competition, testing knowledge about the brain, behaviour, neurological disorders, neuroanatomy, patient diagnosis, and so much more. The first place champion wins $1500, a beautiful trophy, a gigantic travelling trophy to display at the local school for one year, and a trip for 2 to represent Canada at the International Brain Bee competition (IBB).
Preparing for the National:
Here is our Schedule for the competition, and here is our Media Release. Local organizers and competitors: For additional detailed information about preparing for the CCNBB (study resources, travel details, etc.), follow the Organizers link from the top menu.
We had extremely tough competition between 9 local brain bee champions (seen in the photo at the right). Our top 3 champions were Isdin Oke (1st place), Adriena De Visser (2nd place), and Jeremy Zung (3rd place). We are expecting an even better battle this year!
Check out this video of the highlights of the neuroanatomy and patient diagnosis challenges from last year:
