{"id":399,"date":"2024-02-06T13:22:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T18:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/?page_id=399"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:42:05","slug":"bu-brain-bee-competition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/resources-for-students\/bu-brain-bee-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"BU Brain Bee Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The 2026 Boston University Regional Brain Bee was held on:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Sunday, March 22nd, 2026<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>10:30 AM &#8211; 4:30 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">GSU Auditorium, George Sherman Union<br \/>\n775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-399 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-responsive_gallery'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6786-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6779-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6770-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6789-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6774-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6793-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6798-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1.jpg'><img width=\"550\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-550x550.jpg\" class=\"attachment-responsive_gallery size-responsive_gallery\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-710x710.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_6802-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>On Sunday, March 22nd, we held the third annual BU Brain Bee, and it brought some seriously impressive competition! After a strong written round, 14 students advanced to the second oral round, and they moved quickly as students were put to the test under pressure. In the final whiteboard round, we were able to determine our winner early- Mariam Mohamed stood out as the only finalist to answer a key question correctly- and after a few more intense rounds of tiebreakers, we finalized our top three.<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A huge congratulations to our winners: <strong>Mariam Mohamed<\/strong> (11th Grade, James Madison High School), who will move on to the National Brain Bee representing BU in April; <strong>Allora Chaudhari<\/strong> (9th Grade, Newton South High School); and <strong>Pooja Udayakumar<\/strong> (11th Grade, Nashua High School South)!<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to our judges, <strong>Dr. Mark Howe, Dr. Lynne Chantranupong, and Dr. David Somers<\/strong>, and to our guest speakers, <strong>Madisyn Carrington, Mingqi Sha, Beckett Blocker, and Viviana Castro<\/strong>. We\u2019re also so grateful to all of our undergraduate and graduate student volunteers who helped make the day run so smoothly.<\/p>\n<p>It was such a fun day- we\u2019re really grateful to everyone who made it happen!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Registration:<\/h3>\n<p><em>Please note: Student contestants can only register for one regional brain bee per calendar year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Participation is free and open to all students who wish to attend. Space is limited so advance registration is required. To register, please fill out this form. \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/VA4csYCVXqBAUFjF8\">https:\/\/forms.gle\/VA4csYCVXqBAUFjF8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Registration Deadline is <strong>March 16th at 11:59 PM.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Brain Bee Overview:<\/h3>\n<p>The BU Regional Brain Bee is a regional chapter of the International Brain Bee, an annual competition for high school students testing their knowledge in the field of neuroscience, sponsored in part by the Society for Neuroscience, the largest professional Neuroscience society in the world.<\/p>\n<p>The winner of our regional competition will represent Boston University at the 2026 US National Brain Bee, which will be held in person on Saturday, April 25 at the University of California, Irvine<\/p>\n<p>National champions from around the world will go on to compete in the 2026 International Brain Bee, which will be held virtually in conjunction with the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in late September.<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>Virtual Review Sessions:<\/h3>\n<p><span>Twice a week, BU undergraduate and graduates will be leading review sessions to help you prepare for the material tested in the competition! Join at this link at your convenience to learn more about Brain Facts material and questions you can expect!<\/span><\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" dir=\"ltr\" border=\"1\" width=\"549\" height=\"284\">\n<colgroup>\n<col width=\"144\" \/>\n<col width=\"132\" \/>\n<col width=\"133\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong>Mondays, 7-8PM<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Wednesdays, 7-8PM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Neuroanatomy<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2\/2\/2026<\/td>\n<td>2\/4\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Neurophysiology<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2\/9\/2026<\/td>\n<td>2\/11\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Neurodevelopment<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2\/16\/2026<\/td>\n<td>2\/18\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Brain Regulation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2\/23\/2026<\/td>\n<td>2\/25\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Neurological Disorders<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>3\/2\/2026<\/td>\n<td>3\/4\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Brain Injury &amp; Illness<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>3\/16\/2026<\/td>\n<td>3\/16\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Event Schedule (2026):<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-491x636.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"491\" height=\"636\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-834 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-491x636.png 491w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-791x1024.png 791w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-768x994.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-1187x1536.png 1187w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2-464x600.png 464w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2026\/03\/bu-brain-bee-schedule-2.png 1545w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Transportation:<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2026 BU Brain Bee competition is located in the <\/span><b>George Sherman Union (GSU) Auditorium<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (775 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02215).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/upn\/files\/2025\/03\/GSU_Exterior_0004-636x424.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"424\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-703 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2025\/03\/GSU_Exterior_0004-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2025\/03\/GSU_Exterior_0004-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2025\/03\/GSU_Exterior_0004-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/files\/2025\/03\/GSU_Exterior_0004.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The outside of the George Sherman Union (GSU) Building.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If arriving by MBTA, you can take the Green B Line to the BU Central stop, and walk about 3 minutes west to reach the George Sherman Union.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Street parking may be hard to come by on the day of, so please plan accordingly. For more information about where you can park as a guest on campus, please visit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/transportation\/parking\/charles-river-campus-parking\/crc-guests-visitors\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this site<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once inside the GSU, go up the stairs at the front of the GSU to the 2nd floor. Student volunteers will be inside and guiding students to the competition room. Keep a lookout for our Brain Bee posters as well!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feel free to email <\/span><a href=\"mailto:prernas7@bu.edu\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prernas7@bu.edu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with any questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Competition Format:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Round 1: Written Exam<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Contestants will give open-ended answers to a 30+ question written exam. All contestants will answer the same questions in a set amount of time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lunch Break &amp; Neuroscience Educational Programming<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 2: Oral Response Round<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Students will each answer questions based on the \u201cBrain Facts\u201d textbook orally. After two incorrect answers, students will be eliminated. Top scorers will move on to Round 3.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 3: Final Elimination Round<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Top scorers will answer questions at the same time using whiteboards. After two incorrect answers, students will be eliminated. The last contestant standing will be crowned the winner!<\/p>\n<p><em>Please note that specific aspects of the competition format may vary from the above.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Study Guide:<\/h3>\n<p>Questions from all three rounds will be based on information contained in the 2018 edition of Brain Facts, a publication of the Society for Neuroscience, which can be downloaded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brainfacts.org\/the-brain-facts-book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Prizes:<\/h3>\n<p>Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in the BU Brain Bee. In addition, the 1st place winner may go onto the national Brain Bee in Florida.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Other Important Information:<\/h3>\n<p>All students willing to travel to Boston for the Brain Bee are eligible to compete.<\/p>\n<p>Students of all ages are eligible to compete; however, only students between the ages of 13-19 years old will be eligible to move on to the National competition in April.<\/p>\n<p>Students may only compete in one Regional Brain Bee per year.<\/p>\n<p>Contestants and parents may not use any recording devices or take notes of any kind during the competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>Contact:<\/h3>\n<p>For any questions\/concerns, please contact <a href=\"mailto:prernas7@bu.edu\">prernas7@bu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 Boston University Regional Brain Bee was held on: Sunday, March 22nd, 2026 10:30 AM &#8211; 4:30 PM GSU Auditorium, George Sherman Union 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 &nbsp; &nbsp; On Sunday, March 22nd, we held the third annual BU Brain Bee, and it brought some seriously impressive competition! After a strong written [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11661,"featured_media":0,"parent":177,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/399\/revisions\/867"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/upn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}