Jackson a ‘back to back’ brainiac

Queenslander Jackson Huang has again been named the International Brain Bee Champion.

The Brain Bee is a neuroscience competition for young students, 13 to 19 years of age, run in conjunction with the World Congress of Neurology.

It is the second year running that an Australian, and indeed a Queenslander has taken out the international final.

Future neuroscientists from 18 countries around the world met at the International Neurology Congress in Vienna, Austria to compete in the 15th International Brain Bee Championship from 22 – 24 September.

Professor Linda Richards of the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), who founded the Australian Brain Bee Challenge, said its purpose was to motivate young men and women to study the brain, and to inspire them to consider careers in the basic and clinical neurosciences.

“We hope to inspire young Australians to become scientists tackling the cause of neurological disease and mental illnesses and to learn how the brain functions.

“Australian students entering this competition are consistently out-performing students from other countries at the highest international level which is great news for the future of neuroscience in Australia,” she said.

Mr Huang, who attends the Queensland Academy of Science Maths and Technology, receives $3,000, a trophy, and work experience in a neuroscience laboratory.

The Brain Bee competition has three tiers. Worldwide there are about 150 local competitions, each one involving many schools.

The winners of local competitions in each country then compete in their respective national championships.

In Australia, around 5,000 students took part in the competition that named Jackson as the Australian Brain Bee Challenge National Champion.

The national winners from each country then go on to compete in the International Championship.

They are tested on their knowledge of the human brain including such topics as intelligence, emotions, memory, sleep, vision, hearing, sensation, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, addictions and brain research.

The competition involves oral tests, a neuroanatomy laboratory exam, a neurohistology test, a written test and a patient diagnosis component.

For more information, visit www.abbc.edu.au