Last year we nurtured a world Brain Bee champion! Miss Nooran AbuMazen, now a first-year UWaterloo biology student, won regional and national titles in the popular neuroscience competition for high-school students. She went on to represent Canada at the international level in Copenhagen, bringing home second place honours this past July.
Nooran says her strong performance was fuelled in part by weekly coaching sessions with the Department of Kinesiology, and the opportunity to study real brain tissue in AHS’ anatomy lab.
Neuroscience PhD candidate Robyn Ibey organizes the regional Brain Bee, which is hosted by University of Waterloo's Department of Kinesiology, and worked closely with Nooran to help her prepare for Copenhagen. Robyn says the Brain Bee is an important part of Kinesiology’s outreach to local high school students. “Students have limited opportunities to learn about the brain and neuroscience in high school. They are always excited to visit the university, participate in a friendly competition and see what we have to offer in this amazing field.”
The International Brain Bee (IBB) was founded in 1998 by American neuroscientist Dr. Norbert Myslinski to encourage young people to learn about the human brain and consider careers in basic and clinical brain science. UWaterloo KIN has run the regional program since 2009.
