Bee exposes young minds to future in ‘great frontier of scientific research’

When Ayan Dey's high school biology teacher asked him if he'd like to compete in the McMaster Brain Bee, he was more than a little reluctant. With a some encouragement, however, Dey not only attended the competition but – in his words – did “unexpectedly well”.

Now in his fourth year of an honours degree in psychology, neuroscience & behavior, Dey is one of a number of McMaster students first exposed to the field through the Bee competition. First organized eight years ago by Judith Shedden, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, the competition tests students' knowledge of neuroscience and their skills in patient diagnosis and neuroanatomy and is meant to foster an interest in one of the great frontiers of scientific research; a plan that appears to be working.

“The Brain Bee laid the foundation,” said Sanket Ullal, who won the competition in 2005 and now studies biology at McMaster. “It has definitely given me an edge in research and school projects.”

High school students from across the country will converge on McMaster this weekend for the CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee. The competition will cover topics such as sleep, intelligence, emotion, perception, stress, aging, brain imaging, neurology, neurotransmitters, genetics and brain disease.

The winner of last year's McMaster Brain Bee (the precursor to the national bee), Sean Amodeo, agrees that attending the competition tends to spark an interest in psychology-related fields and helps solidify the desire to study the subject for students who have already made up their minds.

“I wanted to learn about one of the most rapidly growing areas of science,” said Amodeo, now in his first year in health sciences. “The Brain Bee got me interested in neuroscience and inspired me to pursue a career in brain research.”

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,” said Anthony Phillips, scientific director at the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. “These talented students represent the future in this field.”