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Press Releases | |
Febuary 19, 2004
Fifth Annual Brain Bee Contest to be Held at Southampton College
With a Commitment to Help Create a New Generation of Scientists, Two Professors Teach Free Preparation Courses to Neuroscience Competition HopefulsContact:
Patricia Conway
631-287-8313Southampton, NY - Southampton College will host its fifth annual regional "Brain Bee" on February 28, 2004. The neuroscience quiz-show style competition is the only one of its kind on Long Island, and winners of the Southampton College contest have gone on to place among the top finishers in the National Brain Bee, garnering scholarships and prizes.
Long Island high school teachers and student contestants interested in neuroscience are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible by contacting Southampton College Professor John Neill at (631) 287-8202. Neill and Professor Paul Forestell, both widely published in the field of psychobiology, are currently teaching free preparation courses to ready the students for the local contest.
The Brain Bee, to be held in the College's Duke Lecture Hall from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. will include workshops on current brain research and a tour of the College's labs.
Saroj Kunnakkat, 2003 International Brain Bee Winner, Marty Saggese, Executive Director, Society for Neuroscience, and John Neill, associate professor at Southampton College. The competition tests the best college-bound students about the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movement, stress, aging, sleep and neurological disorders, such as drug addiction, Alzheimer's disease and stroke.
Students in Southampton College's high school neuroscience program have placed in the top 10 each of the previous four years of the International Brain Bee. The College produced 2003's international champion Saroj Kunnakkat, 16, who took first place overall in a heated competition that lasted 11 rounds. The previous year, Southampton College champ Vikas Gupta placed second overall in the international contest. Regional winners are offered a $12,000 scholarship to attend Southampton College. International champions receive an additional $6000 in scholarships and an all-expense-paid trip for two to attend the Society for Neuroscience Conference.
Internationally, the Brain Bee is part of Brain Awareness Week in March. Spearheaded by both the Dana Alliance, a private philanthropic foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience, the goal is to motivate youth to learn about the brain and pursue careers in biomedical brain research in the war against mental retardation, cerebral palsy, spinal-cord injury and other brain disorders.
For more information on the local competition, contact Dr. John Neill at (631) 287-8202 or John.Neill@liu.edu
