BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK CAMPAIGN
Brain Awareness Week is an international campaign dedicated to advancing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. Founded and coordinated by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and its sister organization, the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, the Campaign is celebrating, in 2010, its fifteenth year as a catalyst for public understanding of brain science. The Dana Alliances are joined in the campaign by partners from around the world, including universities, hospitals, patient groups, government agencies, schools, service organizations, professional associations, and more.
THE NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON, DC BRAIN BEES
In celebration of Brain Awareness Week, the Dana Alliance coordinates two regional Brain Bee competitions in New York City and Washington, DC. The Brain Bees are live competitions that test the neuroscience knowledge of high school students. Each year, regional competitions like the New York City and Washington, DC Brain Bees are held internationally. The winners in the United States are invited to compete in the United States
National Brain Bee at the University of Maryland, a highlight event during Brain Awareness Week. The US National Champion competes in the
International Brain Bee Championship and receives a paid summer internship with an esteemed neuroscientist, among other prizes.
New York City Regional Brain Bee Competition
The 2010 New York City Regional Brain Bee Competition took place on Thursday, February 11th at New York University’s Helen & Martin Kimmel Center for University Life. A record forty students participated in the competition, representing twenty-three schools from all five boroughs of New York City, Westchester County, and for the first time, Dutchess County. Dana Alliance member Michael E. Goldberg, M.D., (pictured below) of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons moderated and judged the competition, along with two graduate students from his lab, Sara Steenrod, a Ph.D. student, and Yixing Xu, an M.D.–Ph.D. student.
Photo: Michael Ian
For the first time ever, the competition resulted in a tie: Koryalys Edwards (left, in photo above) and Ashley Jabar (right), both of Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School, both took home first prize and traveled to the National Brain Bee competition in Baltimore during Brain Awareness Week. Both students participated in the 2009 competition, with Ms. Edwards placing third and Ms. Jabar placing fourth. Ms. Edwards and Ms. Jabar will receive an all expenses paid trip to the United States National Brain Bee Championship, which takes place during Brain Awareness Week 2010, a $250 cash award from sponsor NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community, and study materials to prepare for the National Championship. Third place winner Sun Young Chung, a junior at Staten Island Technical High School, received a $100 cash award. Congratulations to all the participants!
News story: Two Queens Students Tie for First at NYC Regional Brain Bee
Sponsors
The New York City and Washington, DC Brain Bees are organized by the Dana Alliance and co-sponsored by NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community and the Society for Neuroscience. An additional sponsor of the Washington, DC Bee was the American Association for the Advancement of Science.