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Press Release

Las Vegas Brain Bee: A neuroscience competition for teenage students

Press Release: Las Vegas Brain Bee: A neuroscience competition for teenage students
February 22, 2017; Las Vegas, Nevada
Contact: Clifford Jordan, Director of the Nevada Brain Bee Association
[email protected], www.NVBrainBee.org; +1-7028823323

Future neuroscientists and neurologists from high schools in the Las Vegas area participated in the Las Vegas Brain Bee on February 18th, held at UNLV campus. The Neuroscience contest is yearly put on by the Nevada Brain Bee Association, a local non-profit. The organizers of the contest are part of the UNLV Neurobiology of Disease and Behavior Lab (kinneylab.org) along with local volunteers from CCSD and local businesses. The Las Vegas Brain Bee is a local neuroscience competition for local young students, 13 to 19 years of age. The only qualification to participate is that a student be enrolled in a Las Vegas area high school. Entry to contest is free of charge. The participants are tested on their knowledge of the human brain including such topics as intelligence, emotions, memory, sleep, vision, hearing, sensation, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, addictions and brain research. The competition involves a neuroanatomy laboratory component, a neurohistology component, and a patient diagnosis component, and oral and written parts. Sample questions include: What kind of molecules are semaphorin, ephrin, neuropilin and plexin? Damage to which cranial nerve results in a drooping eyelid, dilated pupil, and inability to focus the lens? Cardiovascular function is regulated primarily by the brainstem and what other important brain structure? This year, there were 12 participants that represented Green Valley HS, Clark HS, West Tech HS, Northwest Tech HS, Foothill HS, Coronado HS, Legacy HS, and The Meadows HS. The winner this year is Sonakshi Dixit of Clark HS. Sonakshi will be representing Las Vegas at the US National Brain Bee which will be held at UMB campus in Baltimore, Maryland on March 17-19. The winner of the US National Brain Bee will then represent the USA at the World Brain Bee which this year will be held in Washington DC in the summer of 2017. The Las Vegas Brain Bee is just one of about 170 local chapter competitions worldwide. The winners of the local chapter competitions then compete in their respective regional championships. The regional winners then go on to represent their regions in the World Championship. Last year there was a record 25 countries represented. Finishing in second place in the Las Vegas Brain Bee was Taylor Valentine of Legacy HS, and in third place Lucia Bevilacqua of Coronado HS. Attached is a photo of the top three Las Vegas Brain Bee winners. More information about the Las Vegas Brain Bee can be found at www.nvbrainbee.com. More information about the US National and World Brain Bee can be found at www.thebrainbee.org .