MADISON – This year, Puja Chopade from Bob Jones High School again claimed the title of Alabama Brain Bee Champion. Puja has won the first-place honor for two consecutive years.

The host for the competition on March 5 was the Neuroscience Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham or UAB. Typically, Brain Bee activities are held in conjunction with the annual UAB Neuroscience Day. (uab.edu/brainbee)

The 2022 contest was conducted in virtual mode with 27 participants.

This year, Puja Chopade encouraged more participation from students at Bob Jones and James Clemens high schools. In 2021, Puja Chopade and Neha Chopade were the only two students to represent Bob Jones. This year, five juniors from Bob Jones participated

Madison students in the Top Five were Puja Chopade in first place and Neha Chopade in fourth place from Bob Jones and Brock Senel in fifth place from James Clemens.

The Top 10 includes Emily Lee and Thais Arslanbekov, also from Bob Jones.

Puja not only encouraged and guided the students but also conducted one- to two-hour virtual classes. Prospective participants studied the Brain Bee course material and asked questions for Puja to answer.

Brain Bee is open to all Alabama high school students, free of charge. The contest includes a multiple-choice written test and the oral round. The top ten performers in the written test will participate in the oral round. An official will ask each student to respond quickly to a neuroscience question.

This process continues to identify the final three students. The last student ‘standing’ will be named 2022 Alabama Brain Bee Champion.

The national competition consists of neuroanatomical practicals, neurohistological slide readings, patient diagnosis and MRI reading components.

Brain Bee’s founders urge youth to learn more about the brain. The young adults’ energy and passion can help in finding cures for autism, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other brain disorders.

For more information, visit uab.edu/brainbee.