By Michelle Jaffee
With an eye on becoming a psychologist or psychiatrist one day, 10th grader Navya Goyal walked into the McKnight Brain Institute early on Dec. 7, prepared to show her knowledge of neuroscience facts.
The Gainesville High School student was set to face 12 other teens from across the region in the annual Alachua County Brain Bee, a contest that awards a cash prize and travel money to compete in the USA Brain Bee Championship, scheduled for April at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
At one point during the half-day competition, Navya, 15, felt stumped on a neuroanatomy question about arteries — but then she paused and drew on what she’d learned at practice sessions held by UF neuroscience and psychology students leading up to the Bee.
“What was really helpful was their review sessions because I wouldn’t have done this well without them,” said Navya after finishing in first place.
Simon Ropicki, of Lincoln Middle School, won second place, and Yifan Song of the Frazer School took home third.
Sponsored by the MBI and UF’s BRAIN Center and BREATHE Center, the Brain Bee included a written exam (multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank) and a separate series of tests based on neuroanatomy and histology questions.
“We cover all sorts of topics from development to neuroanatomy to general functioning, and it really allows students to get into neuroscience in high school or in middle school and see if they really like it,” said Reese Chadwick, the Brain Bee chair with the North Central Florida Society for Neuroscience and a UF undergraduate student in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience.
Seeing the enthusiasm of participants was a highlight for Chadwick and other UF student leaders.
“It’s nice to recognize that spark, that initial curiosity of the kids that are like, ‘Hey, I want to know more about that,’” said Alejandro Gamba Segovia, M.D., M.Sc., Brain Bee vice chair and a doctoral student in UF’s Department of Psychology.
Scoring the highest number of points, Navya won a $1,500 travel grant and registration fee to compete in nationals. The winner there will advance to the International Brain Bee.
Asked if there was anything special she’d like to do while up north, Navya was quick to answer.
“Pizza,” she said with a laugh. “New Jersey and New York are kind of known for that.”
