Program

Berl in,Germany July 5th-9th 2018

Welcome to Germany!It is a true privilege to welcome you to the 20th International Brain Bee (IBB) World Champi-onship in Berlin, Germany, organised in conjunction with the 11th Forum of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS). We would like to congratulate all participants on reaching the IBB World Championship. You are the best in your countries and this represents an exceptional achievement!We look forward to a friendly, inspiring but also challenging competition this year in Berlin! The 2018 IBB will allow you to test and expand your neuroscience knowledge. During the neu-roanatomy exam, you will have a chance to analyze real brain specimens and then for an hour you will become a neurologist who will diagnose patients suffering from neurological disorders. Your knowledge and speed will be challenged in a written exam and in the live podium session where you will be intellectually engaged by a panel of world-renowned neuroscientists. Like the real scientific community, the IBB is not only about knowledge but also about meeting new people that share passion for neuroscience. During your stay in Berlin, you will be encouraged to get to know fellow national champions and build connections and friendships that have the potential to last a lifetime. Furthermore, in the IBB you will meet experienced neuroscientists who will serve as role models for your future career. Therefore, we recommend reaching out to and socializing as much as possible with them to make the most out of the 2018 IBB experience! All attendees will also be invited to join the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA), which was created to connect the IBB alumni and promote neurosciences in schools across the world.

During the 2018 IBB, you will also get a glimpse of Germany and its capital city, Berlin. Among the many planned activities, students will visit important landmarks of the history of the capi-tal. Furthermore, the neuroanatomy and neurohistology examinations will take place at one of the most prestigious medical universities in Europe, the Berlin Charitè, which recently cele-brated its 300th Anniversary. Thus, 2018 IBB will be a great opportunity to explore the German scientific community as a possible location for your future studies. Therefore, we also encourage you to take advantage of the social activities and learn about German and Europe-an culture.

Neuroscience is a wonderful field that captivates our interests and continues to inspire us as we pursue our own careers as scientists. We hope that during the 2018 IBB, we will share our enthusiasm by offering you a window into the life of a neuroscientist as well as to give you the chance to make long lasting contacts that will guide you throughout your personal and pro-fessional adventures. We hope you will have a great experience at the 2018 IBB. Lastly, we are sure in a few years, we will meet you again as budding scientists and medical doctors, doing groundbreaking work around the world and inspiring the future generations of neuroscien-tists!

Best wishes,

2018 IBB Organizing Committee

1

2018 Brain Bee World ChampionshipVolunteer Organizers

LaShae Nicholson 2018 IBB Host Sub-Committee Chair

Marketing Manager, Deutsche Neurowissenscahften Olympiade e.V.

Mostafa Nashaat, DNO-BerlinJohanna Meichsner, DNO-Frankfurt

Sandra Nungeß, DNO-FrankfurtMandy Watson, DNO-Berlin

Ionut Dumitru 2018 IBB Scientific Sub-Committee Chair

Academic Manager, Deutsche Neurowissenscahften Olympiade e.V.

Tiziana Cesetti, DNO-HedeibergAnja Dorn, DNO-Berlin

Aman Maharjan, DNO-HeidelbergMarta Orlando, DNO-BerlinTijana Radic, DNO-Frankfurt

Friedrich Schwarz, DNO-BerlinPaola Suarez, DNO-Berlin

Kai Lun Teh, DNO-Heidelberg

Martyna Petrulyte 2018 IBB Organizing Committee Chair

United Kingdom Brain Bee Coordinator

Catarina Luis, DNO-BerlinMichaela Müller, DNO-Berlin

We are thankful for the dedication to science outreach shown by these and other members of the Deutsche Neurowissenschaften Olympiade e.V. 2

2018 Brain Bee World Championship

Table of Contents

4) Special Thanks

5) Letter From the Founder

7) About the International Brain Bee

9) Letter from Sojas Wagel, 2017 IBB Champion

10) Past International Brain Bee Winners

11) 2018 International Brain Bee Judges

15) Helpful Information

16) Useful Contact Information

17) Program Overview

20) FENS Forum Tour Program

21) FENS Fourm Tour Guides

23) Brain Bee National Champions

24) National Champion’s Biographies

37) Neuroscience Inspired

39) Thank you!

Experiment

3

Special Thanks!The 2018 International Brain Bee Championship is taking place with the

generous support of the Hertie Foundation

4

Letter From the Founder & IBB Board ChairCongratulations on winning your Regional Brain Bees, and taking up the challenge of representing your country, school, and family at the 20th Anniversary World Championship in Berlin. You have a lot to be proud of and to look forward to in the decades to come. The promise of neuroscience is real, and the future of neuroscience will be revolutionary. I know because I lived through it. I am writing you this message in the year 2048, at the 50th Anniversary of the International Brain Bee. Let me tell you what has been happening for the last 30 years.

There are now 114 countries participating in the Brain Bee Championship including some new ones you never heard of because in your time they have not been created yet, and some have been combined into larger ones. We have added more

parts to the competition, including the Brain in Space, Robotic Brains and Artificial Intelli-gence, Personalized Brain Medicine, Enhanced Cognitive Methods, Advanced Brain Map-ping Techniques, and Neuroethics. In addition, a highlight of the year was the placing of the Brain Bee flag on Mars.

Since 2018, three Brain Bee winners were awarded separate Nobel Prizes for their work on brain chips that prevent epileptic seizures, retinal implants, and a cure for brain cancer; and the International Brain Bee itself won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering world-wide cooperation using social neuroscience to reduce pain and suffering in the world.

Stronger families and increased understanding of executive functioning and reward pro-cessing in the brain has led to a reduction in drug addiction, obesity and unwanted preg-nancies in our world of 2048. Despite all these advances, we still know much less about the brain than about the heart, the kidney, or the lung.

Many brain-related innovations from imaginative minds that were introduced to us by-way-of old fashion science fiction movies and holographic virtuals are still becoming reality. As a result, we have made progress in amygdaling, serotoning, neural dust, groking and neural enhancement. Archaic invasive brain surgeries have been replaced by noninva-sive technologies.

Understanding of brain-machine interfaces and nervous system replacement parts has advanced at a ballistic rate, as well as their integration into everyday life. The publication in 2032 of The Ethics of Altering Memories, Enhancing Cognition, and Reading Minds has led to much controversy and debate. Many of the advances in neuroscience are misused which has led to a surge in the fields of neuroethics and neurolaw.

There are many more wondrous developments in this Golden Age of Neurosci

(30years Ago)Dr. Norbert Myslinski

5

ence, but we still have not solved the mysteries of consciousness, free will, and many others.

Back in 2018, The World Health Organization estimated that neurological disor-ders affected up to one billion people around the world. That number should challenge you to advance our understanding of neuroscience and the human brain, and to expand and grow the field. The potential within the subject is limit-less. Neuroscience is not only for scientists and people with brain disorders but for everybody: Parents, teachers, lawmakers, businessmen, carpenters, farmers, astronauts, and you and me.

I am now 101 years old. Because of neuroscience, I am still fit of mind and body, and can expect to live another 30 years. Many of my friends from 30 years ago are still with me because we have developed effective treatments for many age-re-lated brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Because of neuroscience we now have a richer understanding of ourselves. But despite all our advances, will neuroscience make us a happier and more loving so-ciety?

That is up to you. It is in your hands, for better or worse

Dr. Norbert Myslinski

6

About the International Brain BeeThe primary goal of the IBB is to motivate students to learn about the brain and to inspire them to pursue careers in neuroscience so they can help treat and find cures for brain disorders. It was founded in 1998 by Dr. Norbert Myslinski at the University of Maryland in the United States as a competition for high school students and has grown from a grassroots effort to a successful global educational and outreach initiative.

Almost entirely run by volunteers, there are currently approximately 175 local Brain Bee competitions in more than 50 countries, engaging over 25,000 students across six continents every year. The culmination of this program is the international com-petition held every year in conjunction with major scientific conferences, providing an enriching experience for the participants and those who witness the event.

In early 2018, five major organizations dedicated to brain research and education came together with the Brain Bee Founder to support the formal establishment of the International Brain Bee organization (IBB), as a non-profit educational organiza-tion. Prior to that, the IBB operated and grew solely based on extraordinary volun-teer commitments of time and resources.

The establishment of the IBB as a charitable organization will ensure the continued success of the Brain Bee initiative and help realize its full potential. This major mile-stone was made possible through multi-year funding commitments from five leading global neuroscience partner organizations: the American Psychological Association (APA), the Dana Foundation, the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), in partnership with Dr. Myslinski.

The central IBB organization will formally link the efforts at the local, national and international levels, and build the Brain Bee brand as a globally connected initiative. The IBB Board will work closely with the committed network of volunteer coordina-tors around the world to ensure the effective implementation of the new organiza-tional structure and continued success of the IBB globally.

Other former hosts of the World Championship include the American Psychological Association (APA), IBRO, World Congress of Neurology, World Congress of Psy-chology, Canadian Neuroscience Society, and the International Society for Neuro-chemistry. The Dana Foundation and SfN have also been long-time partners in the Brain Bee initiative, as organizers of the New York City and Washington, DC Chapter Brain Bees, respectively.

7

About the Brain Bee FounderDr. Norbert Myslinski is a member of the University of Maryland’s Department of Neural Pain Sciences in Baltimore. He has devoted his professional life to teach about the human brain around the world. He founded the Brain Bee 1998 and fostered its growth into a successful global initiative. In 2016, Dr. Myslinski was awarded the SfN Science Educator Award supported by the Dana Foundation.

About the American Psychological Association (APA)The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and profes-sional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s member-ship includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisionhs in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit so-ciety and improve people’s lives.

About the Dana FoundationThe Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research through grants, publications, and educational programs.

About the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies is the voice of neuroscience in Europe, representing 43 European national and single-discipline neuroscience soci-eties, comprising 22,000 members.

About the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) is the global federation of neu-roscience organizations that aims to promote and support neuroscience training, teaching, collaborative research, and advocacy around the world, representing more than 80 international, national, and regional scientific organizations.

About the Society for Neuroscience (SfN)The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 37,000 basic scien-tists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.

About the International Brain Bee

8

Letter To the 2018 World Brain BeeCompetitors from the 2017 IBB Winner

Dear 2018 World Brain Bee Competitors,

Congratulations on getting this far in this prestigious competi-tion! I know it is cliche to say this, but you guys are all win-ners...in the literal sense. You all had to win your respective national bees to attend this event. So no matter what happens, just remember your list of accomplishments is already com-mendable.

But I know how you guys are feeling. I was in your position last year, and I was super nervous. I knew I had studied my hardest, and I tried to be confident in my own abilities, but I simply couldn’t help but to succumb to my own apprehension. And I’m sure many of you are feeling the same way right now. Even though it’s easier said than done, be confident in what you know and you’ll do well regardless of results.

In respect to the competition itself, I have a few tips. For the written test, just think of any strategies you would use for any standardized test. It will be multiple choice so process of elimination techniques are highly recommended. Neurohistology and neuroanatomy will be more reliant on visual cues, so make sure you spend more of your allotted time looking at the given structures than writing down your answer. You don’t want to miss any details that might influence your final answer. For patient diagnosis, it is easy to fall into the trap of confirmation bias. Make sure you use the results of your two lab or imaging exams to rule out other possibilities, not to confirm what you already think is the answer. And finally, the live Q&A is always the most daunting part of the competition because of the complexity of the questions asked and the time crunch. But don’t let the time limit get to your head! You want to make sure that your head is free of stressful thoughts when you’re answering these difficult questions. But with that being said, be wary of the time limit. Always write something down before the time expires even if you aren’t sure of your answer.

Nevertheless, by far the most important part of the competition is surprisingly not even the competition itself. It is how you use it after you go back home. The reason why this compe-tition was founded in the first place was to spread awareness about studying the brain and encourage students to go into the field and better their community. As you all know, there are a ton of neurological and psychiatric disorders that are still waiting for cures or could use some better treatment options. In the future, that’s where you guys will hopefully step in and make it happen. But even before becoming a doctor, you can still make an impact on your community. Hold a fundraiser for a local mental health clinic.

United States of AmericaSojas Wagle

9

Past International Brain Bee Winners1999: David Alpay: Earl Haig High School, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA2000: Otilia Husu: Mountain Ridge High School, Glendale, Arizona, UNITED STATES2001: Arjun Bharioke: Churchill Junior High, New Providence, New Jersey, UNITED STATES2002: Marvin Chum: Earl Haig High School, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA2003: Saroj Kunnakkat: Lynbrook High School, New York City, New York, UNITED STATES2004: Bhaktapriya Nagalla: Farmington High School in Connecticut, UNITED STATES2005: John Liu: Michigan High School, Berea, Ohio, UNITED STATES2006: Jong Park, UT High School, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA2007: Melody Hu, Wayzata High School, Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES2008: Elena Perry, Richard Montgomary High School, Bethesda, MD UNITED STATES2009: Julia Chartove, Richard Montgomary High School, Bethesda, MD UNITED STATES2010: Ritika Chohani, Prabhavati Padamshi Soni International college, Mumbai, INDIA2011: Thanh-Liem Huynh-Tran, Cate School, Carpinteria, California, UNITED STATES2012: Teresa Tang, Brisbane State High School, Queensland, AUSTRALIA2013: Jackson Huang, Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology, Queensland, AUSTRALIA2014: Gayathri Muthukumar, National Public School, Bangalore, INDIA2015: Jade Pham, James Ruse Agricultural High School, Carlingford, AUSTRALIA2016: Ana Ghenciulescu, "Mihai Viteazul" National College Bucharest, ROMANIA2017: Sojas Wagle, Har-Ber High School, Arkansas, UNITED STATES

Start a club at your school to help students get involved in the Brain Bee. Or even join the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA) and contribute to a project that you’re passionate about, such as the bimonthly journal or the MYELIN initiative (more information can be found at www.youthneuro.org). It doesn’t matter what you do. Just do something that you love and that takes into account the needs of your community.

At the end of the day, this competition wouldn’t have been possible without the collabora-tive efforts of amazing organizations like the APA, the Dana Foundation, FENS, IBRO, and SfN. So if you happen to meet a representative from one of these associations, I encour-age you to thank them for their kind hearted contributions. Make sure not to forget your national and local coordinators as well. Without them, you wouldn’t have been able to com-pete and land a spot at this honorable event. Being at the IBB is a once-in-a-lifetime op-portunity that wouldn’t be possible without the help of many people in your life. So don’t forget to thank them when you get the chance!

As much as I would love to impart more calls-to-action to you guys, my written spiel is over. So all I can say is good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

Best wishes,Sojas Wagle2017 International Brain Bee Champion.

10

2018 International Brain Bee JudgesProf. Dr. Eero Castrén

Professor Castrén obtained his MD and PhD from the Uni-versity of Kuopio in Finland and worked during his PhD as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) in USA. Professor Castrén was also an Alexander von Humbold fellow at the Max- Planck-Institute for Psy-chiatry, Germany. Between 1995 and 2002, Eero Castrén was professor of Molecular Pharmacology and between 2001 and 2002 also Chair of the Department of Neurobi-ology at the A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Kuopio. Since 2013, Eero Castrén is a professor at the University of Helsinki and the director of the Neuroscience Centre in Helsinki. Professor Castrén has successfully accumulated expertise in developmen-tal and behavioural neuroscience, neuropharmacology and molecular biology to become a leading scientist in the rapidly expanding field of neuronal plasticity in the neuropsychiatric disorders and neuropharmacology. The research group led by Pro-fessor Castrén is investigating the role of neurotrophic factors and their receptors on neuronal plasticity and drug responses in the adult brain and he showed that antide-pressant drugs reactivate a developmental-like plasticity in the adult brain, a phe-nomenon they named iPlasticity. Professor Castrén is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, a senior member of the Center of Excellence at the Academy of Finland, the Secretary General elect of the Federation of European Neuroscience Associations and a full member of the European Dana Alliance for the brain. Professor Castrén received numerous honours and awards among which the Schaefer Scholarship at the Columbia University, the advanced investigator award of the European Research Council and the title of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland.

11

2018 International Brain Bee JudgesProf. Dr. Leslie Vosshall

Leslie B Vosshall is the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, and Director of the Kavli Neural Systems Institute at The Rockefeller University. She is a molecular neurobiologist known for her work on the genetic basis of chemosensory behavior in both insects and humans. Her notable contri-butions to science include the discovery of the insect odor-ant receptors, and the elucidation of general principles regarding their function, expression, and the connectivity of the sensory neurons that express them to primary pro-cessing centers in the brain. She founded the Rockefeller University Smell Study in 2004 with the goal of understanding the mechanisms by which odor stimuli are converted to olfactory percepts. Professor Vosshall received an B.A. in Biochemistry from Columbia University in 1987 and a Ph.D. from Rocke-feller University in 1993. Following postdoctoral work at Columbia University, she joined the Rockefeller faculty in 2000. She is the recipient of the 2008 Lawrence C. Katz Prize from Duke University, the 2010 DART/NYU Biotechnology Award, the 2011 Gill Young Investigator Award. Professor Vosshall is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the Na-tional Academy of Sciences.

12

2018 International Brain Bee JudgesAssoc. Prof. Dr. Nicolas Caesar Petersen

Dr. Petersen received a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Denmark in 1999 after which he undertook postdoctoral studies at the Psychology Institute of Kiel University in Germany and at the Prince of Wales Medi-cal Research Institute in Sydney Australia. Dr Petersen is an associate professor at the University of Denmark since 2003 and honorary associate research professor at the University of Queensland since 2012. In 2012 Dr Petersen also became a member of the board of the Danish Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Petersen is investi-gating the complex brain functions underlying the con-trol of movement and the way neuronal and neuro-glia interactions in the motor cortex and closely connected cortical areas are involved in neural plasticity in rela-tion to physical activity. In 2001, Dr. Petersen received the Paxinos-Watson Prize for his work on human motoneurons.

Prof. Dr. Imre Vida

Professor Imre Vida obtained his MD and PhD from the University of Pécs in Hungary degree in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Afterward, Professor Vida became a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Anatomy at Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg under the guidance of Pro-fessor Dr. M. Frotscher. In 2006, Professor Vida was ap-pointed assistant professor at the Albert Ludwig Universi-ty until 2007 when he became Senior Lecturer in Neuro-science at the Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. In 2011, Dr. Vida accepted the position as Professor of

Neuroanatomy at the Charité Universitätsmedizin NeuroCure Cluster. Since 2013, Professor Vida is the Head of the Institute for Integrative Neuroanatomy at the Charité and, since 2016, the Acting Head of the Institute for Vegetative Anato-my. Professor Vida’s work focuses on studying the morphological and physiologi-cal properties of GABAergic inhibitory interneurons and their functional role in the cortical circuits.

13

2018 International Brain Bee JudgesProf. Dr. Paul BolamPaul Bolam is emeritus Professor of Anatomical Neuro-pharmacology and emeritus Senior Scientist at the MRC Brain Networks Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford. Professor Bolam’s research has focused on understand-ing the neuronal networks that constitute the basal gan-glia by anatomical and combined quantitative anatomical and physiological approaches in health and in disease models, and he has published over two hundred articles on the subject.

Professor Bolam graduated in Pharmacology at Chelsea College (University of London) in 1975. He then took up a graduate studentship at King's College Hospital Medical School (University of London) and was awarded his PhD in 1979. The same year, he joined the Department of Pharmacology at the Univer-sity of Oxford, and remained in post until 1983 when he was awarded a MRC Senior Research Fellowship. With his arrival in Oxford, Professor Bolam changed fields of research by joining a team working on the anatomy and neuropharmacol-ogy of the basal ganglia, and has continued in this field ever since. In 1985, Paul Bolam became a founder-member of the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit. He still works closely with colleagues at the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre.

Professor Bolam is currently co-Editor in Chief of the European Journal of Neuro-science. He is also an Advisory Editor of Trends in Neuroscience, and a member of the editorial boards of several other journals. He has previously served as Secre-tary of the British Neuroscience Association, as President of the International Basal Ganglia Society, as a member of the Medical Research Council Neuroscience and Mental Health Board, and as Chair of the Research Advisory Panel of Parkinson’s UK. In 2011, Paul was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and, in 2012, a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society. He is also very active in public engagement in science, talking to school groups, patient and carer groups, and also giving public lectures.

14

Accommodations

Leonardo Hotel Berlin MitteBertolt-Brecht-Platz 4

10117 Berlin, GermanyPhone: +49 (0)30 - 374 405 000

Email: info.berlinmitte@leonardo-hotels.comS-bahn stop: Friedrichstraße

Helpful InformationEvent Dates: July 5th - 9th, 2018

Hosting Conference

11th Forum of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societieshttp://forum2018.fens.org

Competition VenuesCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Charitéplatz 110117 Berlin, Germany

https://www.charite.de/en

CityCube BerlinMessedamm 26,

14055 Berlin, Germany https://www.messe-berlin.de/en/Visitors

S-bahn stop: S Messe Süd (Berlin)

Train Travel Between the Leonardo Hotel & CityCube Berlin

To CityCube Berlin (S Messe Süd): S75 / S9 to S Spandau Bhf To the Leonardo Hotel (Fiedrichstraßer): S75 to S Wartenberg

S9 to S Flughafen Schönefeld

15

Organizers’ Contact Information

Martyna Petrulyte 2018 IBB Organizing Committee Chair

Email: martyna@brainbee-uk.comTelephone: +447760973182

LaShae Nicholson2018 IBB Host Sub-Committee ChairEmail: nicholson@management.dno-ev.de

Telephone: +4917652072283

Ionut Dumitru2018 IBB Scientific Sub-Committee Chair

Email: dumitru@berlin.dno-ev.deTelephone: +4915120052883

General Emergency Contact InformationPan-European Emergency Number (EMS & Fire Brigrade): 112 Calls to 112 are free of charge and can be made from a landline, pay phone or mobile phone, and even without a SIM card. This call center can be used for any life-threatening situation, including serious medical problems, fire-related incidents.

Police: 110German police or “Polizei” can usually be identified by their predominantly dark blue uniforms, and blue and grey automobiles. Most German police personnel speak English and can be contacted for crimes and life-threatening situations .

CityCube Berlin Emergency Numbers (Internal):Paramedics can be reached by dailing 2222 on a CityCube venue phone or by cellphone at +49 30 3038 2222 Please do not call 112 while at the CityCube Berlin as the public emergency-am-bulance comes, which doesn’t know the well and could delay services 16

Program Overview

Friday, July 6th, 2018Brain Bee Neurohistology & Neuroanatomy Examinations

Thursday, July 5th, 2018Welcome National Brain Bee Champions & Guests!

Registration & Hotel Check-in Hotel Lobby

14:00 - 15:30

2018 Welcome Ceremony & DinnerLecture Hall Ruin, Charité Museum*Students & Chaperons only, dress smart

16:00 - 19:00

Group BreakfastHotel Dining Room

8:00 - 9:00

Depart for Competition Day 1 Hotel Lobby

9:30

Neurohistology ExamBreak / Transistion Neuroanatomy ExamCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

10:15 - 11: 15 11:15 - 11:3011:30 - 12:30

Lunch at the Mensa HU NordCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

12:30 - 13:30

Medical History Guide TourCharité Museum

14:00 - 17:00

Dome Tour & PhotosReichstag Building

18:00

Dome Tour & PhotosReichstag Building

19:00

Berliner Medizinhistorisches MuseumPhoto credit: Christoph Weber 17

Program OverviewSaturday, July 7th, 2018

Brain Bee Written Quiz & Patient Diagnosis Examinations

9:30 Depart for Competition Day 2 Hotel Lobby

10:30 - 11:3011:30 - 11:4511:45 - 13:00

Written QuizBreak / Transition Patient Diagnosis ExamCityCube Berlin, Room M8

13:00 - 14:00 LunchCityCube Berlin

14:00 - 17:00 Guide TourOlympic Stadium Berlin

17:00 -18:00 FENS Opening CeremonyCityCube Berlin, Hall B

18:00 - 19:00 FENS Opening Plenary LectureCityCube Berlin, Hall B

Group BreakfastHotel Dining Room

8:00 - 9:30

DinnerSelf Organized

19:00 - 20:00

Return to Accommodations20:00

18

Sunday, July 8th, 2018Brain Bee Live Judging Session

Program Overview

9:30 Depart for Competition Day 3Hotel Lobby

10:30 - 12:30 Live Judging SessionCityCube Berlin, Room M8

12:30 - 13:30 LunchCityCube Berlin

13:30 - 15:30 FENS TourCityCube Berlin

15:45 -17:00 FENS Parallel SymposiaCityCube Berlin

17:15 - 17:3017:30 - 18:30

Awards CeremonyFENS Plenary LectureCityCube Berlin, Hall B

Group BreakfastHotel Dining Room

8:00 - 9:30

DinnerGanymed Restaruant

19:30 - 23:00

Return to Accommodations23:00

Monday, July 9th, 2018Final Farewell

Until 12:00 Depart for Competition Day 1 Hotel Lobby

Group BreakfastHotel Dining Room

8:00 - 9:30

19

FENS Forum Tour Program

Meet the Tour Guides & Introduction to FENS

Brain Awareness Week Presentation: Hall B Foyer

FENS Poster Session: Poster Area

History of Neuroscience Presentation: Hall B Foyer

13:30 - 15:30 Sunday, July 8th, 2018

Parallel Symposia15:45 - 17:15 Sunday, July 8th, 2018

Two to tango: Brain-immune interactions.Option III: S16, Hall A4+5

Crispr/cas9-based gene editing for modeling and treating neurological disorders.Option II: S15, Hall B

Aberrant pre- and post-synaptic mechanisms in parkinson’s: Pre-degeneration to late stage disease.

Option I: S10, Hall A2

BAW on the French Riviera: Brain of the FutureGuest speakers: Dr. Carole Rovere, Prof. Jacques Noel, andJohn Pusceddu

(During lunch)

Theme Option III Neurodegenerative Diseases Theme Option II Neurotransmitters and Growth Factors

Theme Option I Development of Neural Systems

Guest speakers: Dr. Lorenzo Lorusso, Dr. Richard Brown

20

FENS Forum Tour Guides

Boris Bouazza ArosteguiOrganizer, ENCODS2018

I am from Mallorca, a calm island in the Mediterranean Sea. After completing my studies in Biology and Neuro-science in Madrid and Barcelona, I obtained a Fellow-ship to pursue a PhD granted by the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence of Berlin. Today, I am doing my research in the Rosenmund Laboratory, bridging together optoge-netics and neurotransmitter release mechanisms.

Volunteer tour guides are representatives and organizers of the European Neuroscience Conference By Doctoral Students (ENCODS)

Adriana van CasterenOrganizer, ENCODS2018

Although my official name is Adriana, most people know me by Anne. I am originally from the Netherlands where I did my Bsc in Biomedical Science and my Msc in Neuro-science. After my master I worked for a year as a technical assistant at the Salk institute in San Diego at the lab of Nicola Allen. Currently, I am doing my PhD in Berlin as a Neurocure Cluster of Excellence fellow in the Garner lab where I work on autoimmune encephalitis.

21

Margaux SilvestreOrganizer, ENCODS2019

My name is Margaux Silvestre and I grew up in the middle of the French Alps. I did a bachelor in Life Scienc-es and a Master in Neuroengineering at EPFL in Switzer-land. I am currently doing my PhD at the Francis Crick Institute in London and I am working on a kinase named CDKL5 which, when mutated, causes a severe neurode-velopmental disorder.

FENS Forum Tour Guides

Robert Templaar Organizer, ENCODS2020

Hi! my name is Robert, most people call me Rob. I am from The Netherlands but I did my BSc in Medical Neuroscience at the University of Sussex in the U.K. Currently, I am finish-ing my research masters at the University of Edinburgh, investigating a possible new Alzheimer’s disease drug. In September, I will start my PhD, also at the University of Ed-inburgh, studying molecular changes in the brain during early development in severe forms of autism.

22

2018 National Brain Bee Champions

Quintus U - Wei BaptistMalaysia

Samyak V. BharwadIndia

Mahsa ArmanIran

Vito NicosiaItaly

Yonatan YakubovIsrael

Tomoaki OkamiJapan

Sharon OlagoKenya

Bak Yue ChowHong Kong

Weng Hou ChangMacau

Elaine CheungAustrailia

Huai - Ying HuangCanada

Yuxiao HuangChina

Iara Ribeiro PaivaBrazil

David MikhaelEgypt

Lilia EvgeniouFrance

Maria KoryakinaGermany

Alan LiNew Zealand

Piotr OleksyPoland

Andrei MitrofanRomania

JunSung ParkSouth Korea

Lada IsakovaUkraine

Jayant KarnanUnited Arab Emirates

Emmanuela ObaroUnited Kingdom

Giovanni De GannesGrenada

Akhil KondepudiUnited States of America

23

Congratulations to all of the 2018 National Champions

2018 National Brain Bee ChampionsParticipants Biographies

Elaine attends MacRobertson Girl High School, Victoria’s top academ-ic select-entry high school. She has achieved high distinction in the Aus-tralia’s Chemistry and Biology Olym-piads, a testament to her high value for learning. In addition to her stud-ies, she loves writing poetry, reading Russian literature, playing piano and violin, watching historical Chinese dramas, and spending time with

Austrailia friends. Elaine also volunteers at herElaine Cheung

local hospital and is on her high school’s Interact Committee as she is passionate about con-tributing to global humanitarian projects. Since childhood, Elaine has been fascinated by the complexities of the brain. For her, the IBB is a great opportunity to learn about the fine, neural processes that orchestrate our lives. She is excited to represent Australia at the 2018 World Brain Bee Champion-ships and is looking forward to the places and career path the journey of learning neuroscience will take her.

Iara studies at the Colegio Pedro II - Unidade Niterói São Gonçalo. She is in her last year of High School and intends to go to a medical school after graduating. Since 2016, Lara has participated in a Neuroscience study group. In 2017 she participated in the Rio de Janeiro Neuroscience Olympiad, achieving 2nd place. Iara then went on to achieve 4th place in the Brazilian Brain Bee. In the same year, she participated in the Mathématiques Sans Fron-tières and won 2nd place in the state competition and 3rd place in the national competition. Last year, Iara was also part of a course in Spanish, Español + Allá, and won a cul-tural exchange trip to Buenos Aires. In April 2018, she par-ticipated in the NASA Rover Challenge. This high academ-ic achiever is thankful for the opportunity and is proud to represent Brazil at the 2018 World Brain Bee Championships in Berlin.

Brazil lara Ribeiro Paiva

24

Yuxiao (Ethan) Huang is really fascinated with the beauty of neuroscience. He also has a great interest in game theory, psychology, biology, computer science, and any subject that he can learn and exploit which is associated with neu-roscience. One of Yuxiao’s hobbies is finding the strategy for solving complex problems, such as mathematical or gaming problems. The more that Yuxiao works with game theory and psychology, the deeper his fascination becomes with wanting to understand how our brain works, how our thoughts work in order to make the best strategy decisions. In his free time, he also plays table tennis and likes to study classical Chinese poetry.

Huai-Ying Huang is a 12th grade student who attends the Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, On-tario. She enjoys playing the piano and oboe in her free time as well as playing table tennis, outdoor tennis and spending time and travelling with her family. Huai-Ying also loves listening to classical music and going to orchestras. Her interest in neuroscience started when she realized how fascinating the nervous system, especially the brain, was in its complexity, which started Huai-Ying’s deeper exploration into this field. Starting in September,Huai-Ying will be going to McGill University to pursue

Huai-Ying Huang

studies in the field of Life Sciences. It is her dream to Canada become a neurologist or a neurosurgeon, not only be-cause Huai-Ying has a passion for neuroscience, but because she also wants to be able to help the people who are affected by neurological disorders.

ChinaYuxiao Huang

25

Lilia Evgeniou is a 16-years old, 1st year International Baccalaureate student at the Ecole Jeannine Manuel in Paris, France. She is half Japanese and half Greek, speaking both languages, as well as French and English, fluently. Lilia has lived in Paris and Tokyo. In her free time, she goes horse riding and rock climbing each week. Lilia has been interested in animals since her early childhood, which grew into a love for biology and neuroscience as she became older. This year, Lilia became an avid lover of learning - studying, in-depth, Biology for the British Biolo-gy Olympiad and computer science, algorithms and the programming languages R and Python, for the semifinals of the French National Computer Science Competition, Prologin. Lilia is excited about the International Brain Bee and having the opportuni-ty to represent France at the Neuroscience Championships in Lilia Evgeniou France Berlin, Germany.

David Mikhael is a 17-year-old Egyptian high school stu-dent at the Assiut STEM School, a school which he con-siders to be a great turning point in his life. At the Assiut STEM School, David’s knowledge and social work improved a lot and being a student at a STEM school opened his eyes to the world of science. David loves clinical case studies, especially those which were related to neuroscience and the brain. Since starting to learn about the brain two years ago, his passion for neurosci-ence has been growing exponentially. Now David wantsto be known as one of "The Neuroscientists of the Future.” His participation in the 2018 World Brain Beechampionship as the Egyptian National Champion

resulted from his academic dedication. It is David’s hope that meeting Egypt the other IBB participants will inspire him to continue to pursue his interest in neurosci-ence.

EygptDavid Mikhael

FranceLilia Evgeniou

26

Giovanni De Gannes is a 14-year old from the beautiful island of Grenada in the Caribbean. He is a third form stu-dent at the prestigious Grenada Boys' Secondary School. Giovanni is described as an intelligent, diligent and sociable individual who has learned to appreciate the value of hard work and team cooperation over the course of his life. He believes that living a balanced life is import-ant, as such in his spare time Giovanni enjoys software development, exploring the world of video entertainment, creating animations, developing images, competitive swimming, and playing musical instruments. While he has not yet settled on a future career aspiration, as thereare so many career fields yet to be discovered, Giovanni

is fascinated by the workings of the human brain. He believes that throughout the course of preparing forthe Brain Bee Competition, he will have started the pursuit of knowledge that is necessary to enhance the lives of individuals coping with neuro-logical disorders. It is Giovanni’s desire to explore the ever expanding capacity for knowledge which we harbor inside our minds.

Maria Koryakina was born into a family of doctors, thus was interested in medical science from an early age. For Maria, it was always very important to have an analytical and factual perspective on arising issues in her life. She has already written a number of works on the topic of sleep and sleep disorders. Recently, her article about insomnia was even published last year in Berliner Mor-genpost: ‘Schlaflos durch die Nacht – was man tun kann.’ Maria has also been nominated for her essay on the topic of brain functioning at sleep at the Kant Prize Event of the Kant Schulen. However, her interests are not constricted by science as she has been training as a pia-nist for many years now and also enjoys playing tennis in her free time. Maria’s hobbies include reading, creative handwork, traveling, and watching movies.As a way to contribute to her own personal development, Maria has recently started to participate in her high school's Germany Speech and Debate Club. She has also been involved in Model United Nations (MUN) and the ECB Annual Competition for young students interested in social studies.

GermanyMaria Koryakina

27

GrenadaGiovanni De Gannes

Bak Yue Chow is a 11th grade student at the Diocesan Boys’ School in Hong Kong. Thanks to the Hong Kong Brain Foundation, which organised the Hong Kong Brain Bee, Bak Yue will represent Hong Kong at the 2018 IBB. He has always been fascinated by science and in particu-lar biology. At school, his teachers are very supportive of his thirst for knowledge. They have provided Bak Yue not only with interesting material, but also a plethora of oppor-tunities to participate in scientific affairs and biological-ly-related competitions in Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong Joint-School Biology Olympiad organised by theHong Kong University of Science and Technology (whichhe also have won). The most significant of these is, of

course, the Brain Bee, which has certainly opened my eyes to the exciting and dy-namic field of neuroscience. Preparing for this competition has enabled me to delve into the complex mechanisms of the human brain and gain an understanding of how we think and move. As an aspiring doctor, I feel that the Brain Bee has really helped me confirm my interest in medicine and especially neuroscience. In the future, I really hope that I can successfully embark on this path, working my way through the complexities of the brain to find a cure for one (or more) of its disorders.

Samyak Vinaykumar Bharwad is from Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. He is in the 12th grade where he opted for Biology as his main subject. Samyak has already achieved many academic accom-plishments in his young life. He was voted ‘All-Round Best Student’ of his school in the 8th grade. For his 10th grade board examinations, Samyak received a 10/10 CGPA. The following year, he placed first in his class during his 11th grade final examinations. In 2017, Samyak received the Arunalal Scholarship from the Physical Research Lab-oratory. Currently, he is the Vice Captain of his school. Outside of school, Samyak is also a scout and has regis-tered for the Presidency Award under The Bharat Scouts and Guides. He likes writing poetries, cycling and traveling, especially if it includes a close rendezvous with nature. Samyak also likes meeting new people and getting to know more about them. He looks forward to new opportunities, like the current one of being a participant in the International Brain Bee, which he has been dreaming of since the 10th grade. Samyak had enrolled in a neuroscience course in Coursera during his 10th grade exams. Immediately he fell in love with the beauty of the brain and its wonders. Samyak thanks IBB for this unique opportunity and he is really looking forward to coming to Berlin, Germany for the final international round.

Hong KongBak Yue Chow

IndiaSamyak V. Bharwad

28

Mahsa Arman is 15 years old and the first Iranian girl to take part in the International Brain Bee. Mahsa has always been a good student but became interested in neurosci-ence only a year ago. One of her friends informed her about the Brain Bee competition and that's where it all started for Mahsa. She developed such a deep passion for this field that she is planning to continue studying neuro-science as university student. Mahsa even has a few theo-ries about brain certain functions that she hopes may be proved someday! Aside from neuroscience, Mahsa is really into sports and music, of which she enjoys playing guitar in her free time. She believes in having balance in every aspect of life, as it that's the way to succeed.

Yonatan is a 15-year-old teenager from Ashdod, Israel. Since he was kid, Yonatan was always interested in under-standing how and why things happen. After elementary school, he was accepted into a gifted kids program. He learned physics, biology and chemistry at an early age. He fell in love with science, from learning about the biology of the human body to exploring the tiniest reaction in chemis-try. In the 8th grade he started learning medicine, choosing to supplement his studies with an additional 4 hours per week to learn about human anatomy, diseases and other interesting topics. In 9th grade, Yonatan participated in biol-ogy research group, which studied the effect of different doses of the hormone auxin on the growth of a plant's cut-tings. His group went on to win 1st place in their district’s competition. Yonatan was introduced to the field of neuroscience when he joined a Neuroscience enrichment program at the Weizmann Institute. In 10th grade, after studying the basics of the brain for a whole year, he decided to become a neurosurgeon and made this a major goal in his life. When Yonatan found out about the Brain Bee competition, he just knew he had to participate and hopes to make the most out of this experience.

IsraelYonatan Yakubov

IranMahsa Arman

29

Vito Nicosia is 18 years old and comes from Catania, Italy. He is currently attending the last year of high school, after which Vito would like to study medicine at the university next year because of his interests in the many fields of biomedical research, in partic-ular neuroscience. Vito thinks “there are still a lot of things to be discovered about our brain.” Moved by this strong passion, he has taken part in the na-tional competitions of the Italian BrainBee twice. When he is not studying,

Vito likes to go to the gym or swimming, he reads every kind of novel, plays football, watches films or spends time with his friends. Vito also loves many genres of music, from classical to rock, and one of his favorite hobbies is relaxing in the open air and listening to music. Thus, it is no surprise that Vito spends a lot of time playing the guitar. He also likes traveling because he thinks “it is an important opportunity to open my mind and to learn something new.”

Tomoaki Okami is a 16-year old freshman from Japan with a passion for neuroscience, who is excited that he won the 1st place in the 2018 Brain Bee competition in Japan. Tomoaki often helps to organize school events and partici-pate in volunteer activities. His two favorite subjects in school are biology and geography. Currently, Tomoaki is a member of his school’s biology research club and captain of the Japanese classic culture club. His hobbies include reading books and drawing. Tomoaki has been fond of painting since he was a little child and drew portraits of his teachers for the student handbook. As a representative candidate of Japan, he has visited a neurology hospital and was impressed by the doctors’ eagerness and how proactively they learn. This experience has really inspired his enthusiasm for neuro-science. Tomoaki is looking forward to interacting with students from many coun-tries as well as learning about different cultures at the International Brain Bee.

ItalyVito Nicosia

30

JapanTomoaki Okami

Sharon Olago is 17 years old and was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently she is attending the Kianda High School. During her free time, Sharon likes doing a variety of things such as reading novels and watching films or documentaries for fun. She also really loves music and hopes to learn how to play the guitar and violin in the near future. However, when it comes to sports and athletics, particularly sprints, this is what Sharon enjoys most. For as long as she can remember, Sharon has always been interested in science. In school, the sciences were her favorite subjects. Discoveries, inventions as well as expla-nations of how things work have always intrigued her. Over time, Sharon developed a big interest in neurosci-ence. For her, the brain is extremely interesting to study as it incorporates the differ-ent branches of science. Sharon knows that “there is a lot to be discovered about the brain and brain disorders that at the moment have no cure. For her, “the field of Neuroscience is an exciting, active area of research with many different areas in which one can specialize.” Sharon would love to pursue the study of neuroscience at one of the best medical universities after finishing her high school education.

Weng Hou (Kenny) Chang is a student of Yuet Wah College for the last six years. During these years, the school has provided an invaluable opportunity for him to develop both academically and as a person. For the past two years, he was a member of the Student Union, through which the various group projects and laboratory experiences have allowed Weng Hou to hone his interpersonal and communi-cation skills. Furthermore, being part of the school’s Stu-dent Union has contributed to Weng Hou’s desire and per-sistence to learn for knowledge sake. It is this pursuit of scholastic excellence that persuaded him to participate in his local Brain Bee competition. Weng Hou is honored to represent Macao at the 2018 World Brain Bee Champion-ship.

MacauWeng Hou Chang

KenyaSharon Olago

31

Alan Li is a student from Christchurch, New Zealand. In his spare time, Alan enjoys playing the piano and has played in many orchestras. He loves to learn new skills, like table tennis, golf, tennis and chess. Although he has a wide range of interests, his curiosity and dream to un-derstand the world has led Alan to become fascinated by the fields of Mathematics and Neuroscience. As a child, he had already expressed a deep interest in mathematics and has carried this interest with him to this current day. He is an inquisitive learner who is constantly looking to take on new challenges. In the future, Alan hopes to use his knowledge to benefit the world. He has received merit awards at numerous Mathematics competitions, earning a place on the New Zealand Mathematics Olympiad Training Squad twice. Alan’s first encounter with the field of neuroscience was when his school decided to send a team to the regional Brain Bee. Ever since then, he has been hooked ever since. Alan feels extremely honored and grateful to be able to represent New Zealand at the 2018 World Brain Bee Championships. He is really looking forward to meeting and learning from the other like-minded contestants.

Quintus U-Wei Baptist loves biology, playing the guitar and reading good books. He also enjoys listening to Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani as well as talking about interest-ing topics. However, it is Quintus ambition to be a doctor or a surgeon. As a very scholastically active student, Quintus has received a Merit Award for his participation in the Malaysian Mathematics Olympiad. He also earned the NILAM award (school level) for a public speaking compe-tition, going on to represent his school at the state NILAM competition where he earned 2nd place. In addition to student president at his secondary school. He is theChairman for his school’s STEM club and the Chess &

Indoor Games club, where he actively participates in the National Sunway Math & Logic Challenge and chess competitions. Quintus is also member and Corporal of the St. John Ambulance Malaysia (division AC/ NC 29), where he regularly joins in various courses and public duties. He is also the winner of Malaysian Brain Bee Challenge 2018 and honored to represent his country at the World Brain Bee Championships in Berlin, Germany.

MalaysiaQuintus U-Wei Baptist these achievements, Quintus is also the Head Perfect and

32

New ZealandAlan Li

Andrei Mitrofan is from Bucharest, the capital city of Ro-mania. Ever since Andrei was a child, he has been pas-sionate about nature and fascinated by the mechanisms that keep it in its perfect equilibrium. This has ignited his curiosity to learn more and dive deeper into all the scienc-es. Thus, during Andrei's school years he participated in various contests and Olympiads in subject areas of phys-ics, chemistry, biology and earth science. From quite a young age, Andrei knew that he wanted to study medi-cine, and that decision has never left him since. Andrei's interest for neuroscience was sparked during high school,when he started working as a volunteer for people affect-ed by disabilities. Seeing the heartbreaking effects of ner-

vous system disorders, he was inspired to want to follow the path of neuroscience to try to soothe the pain of those affected by them. Apart from his academic activi-ties, Andrei is interested in sports, especially football and martial arts, and he is an active practitioner of Taekwondo. Charmed by nature, Andrei loves mountain hiking and camping. Music has also been an integral part of his life. He’s been playing the piano for as long as he can remember. For the past few years, Andrei has learned how play the guitar and now plays as a part of strings assembly.

Piotr Oleksy recently graduated, in April, from the Liceum Ogółnokształcące High School in Cracow where he stud-ied biology, chemistry and math. Biology was his favorite subject in high school. Piotr became interested in anato-my, especially the internal organs, and initially wanted to become a surgeon. However, his views quickly evolved. After his first year of high school, Piotr began to move towards subjects such as biochemistry and cell biology leading him to want to study biochemistry or pharmacolo-gy. He was particularly fascinated by growth factors, neu-rotransmitters, and their receptors, particularly GPCR (G-protein coupled receptors). Although, he is interested in medicine for a future career, for his university studies he wants to focus on cell membrane receptors and their ligands as this is what fuels his interests in neuroscience. Piotr wants to learn more about the molecular level of nerve transmission (i.e. proteins involved in this process, receptors, neurotransmit-ters). He firmly believes that understanding the molecular basis of neuronal function is the starting point for the treatment of many disorders, such as schizophrenia, de-pression or prion disease. In his spare time, Piotr enjoys watching good movies and listening to Mahler, Glass and Rachmaninoff (mainly classical composers, but on the other hand he terribly hates Mozart and Bach). He also generally loves the art and fashion of the 20th century and interwar period, such as Art Nouveau.

RomaniaAndrei Mitrofan

PolandPiotr Oleksy

33

JunSung Park is a Korean student who is interested in studying biology. He especially likes learning about the different functional, and sometimes complex, biological networks of living organisms. This underlies his desire to study the brain. His interests in biology began after he read the “Double Helix” by James Watson. Initially, this book was difficult for JunSung to comprehend most of the book due to a lack of knowledge in biology. However, JungSung used this as a driving force to learn more about this field of study. With this passion, he earned his accep-elite school with a strong focus on science education.During his studies, he came to see the beauty of nature

and the biological links between leaving organism, of which much remains to be study in JunSung’s opinion. Currently, JungSung is trying to describe the algal blooms appear in lakes or ponds in Korea by improve the old ecological mathemati-cal model as an elective research study. However, beyond ecology, his passion for learning more about biology also underlies his desire to study the brain. For JunSung, it is fun to learn about how many neurons are contained within the brain, their different cell types and how they work in concert to drive and support behavior-al activities. JunSung does not see love for ecology as something different from studying the brain, but sees this an extension of brain science since understanding the brain can also help one understand how a given organism interacts with it’s sur-rounding environment. It is JunSung’s dream to become a researcher who can combine and study his two scientific interests.

South KoreaJunSung Park tance into the Sejong Academy of Science and art, and

Lada Isakova is interested in biology, especially molecular and evolutionary biology, as well as neuroscience. She likes these topics because of their complexity. Lada wants to better understand how different natural systems are organized and how they work. She is a participant of Biol-ogy Olympiads and a member of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Lada has participated in different sci-entific summer schools, including the international training courses. She enjoys communicating with people, meeting new friends, sharing her ideas and interests, and trying new adventures that allow her to discover more about her-self as a person. Therefore, Lada frequently participates in extracurricular events and activities. Currently, she is the captain of her city`s biology tournament team. In the future, Lada wants to pursue a scientific career as a biologist.

34

UkraineLada Isakova

Jayant Karnan grew up in the United Arab Emirates and is currently in the 10th grade at the English high school (Boy’s Br.) Sharjah-UAE. For Jayant, this quote by Wilder Penfield resonates with him:

“The brain is the organ of destiny. It holds within its hum-ming mechanism secrets that will determine the future of the human race.”

This statement has always intrigued Jayant, driving him to often think about the unfathomable mysteries of the human brain and spurring his deep inclination towards science, particularly neurology and genetics. Regarding the field of genetics, Jayant is especially interested in the topic of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology which enables scientists to change an organism's DNA. As a prolific participant of the UCMAS, Jayant indulges in research activities, and plays basketball during his leisure time. He ardently hopes to crystallize his dreams into thoughts that pave the way to positive actions, thus given him the opportunity to have an indelible impact on his community and society at large.

United Arab EmiratesJayant Karnan

35

Akhil Kondepudi is a junior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, in Missouri, USA. He enjoys learning, among other things, about the life sciences, and especially about the brain. One of Akhil's notable interests in neuroscience is the functional pathways of the brain and how we can represent these pathways with computers (computational neuroscience). He has participated and done well in many academic competitions, including the AMC (American Math Competition) series, USABO (USA Biology Olympi-ad), Science Bowl, and Science Olympiad. In the future, Akhil hopes to pursue a degree in biology or neuroscience and later obtain a MD-PhD in a related field. When not at United States of America

Akhil Kondepudi

Emmanuela Obaro has always been interested in the sci-entific basis behind animal and human psyche. As she learned about the complexity of the human body and the internal hierarchy of living organisms, from a minuscule simple cells to intrinsic organ systems, Emmanuela de-veloped an intense curiosity and excitement for the ana-tomical and functional features of the human architec-ture. At the beginning of this school year, she was en-couraged by her teacher to register in the British Brain Bee competition. Initially, she was hesitant about partici-pating as she had never taken part in a science competi-tion before and didn’t know if she would be able to learn new and seemingly abstract information on her own.

However, Emmanuela didn’t let her doubts and fears take over her consciousness. Participating in the Brain Bee really sparked Emmanuela's interest in neurology. Not only did she have the chance to learn and discover components of the human brain that she never knew even existed, but she was also able to broaden her scientific knowledge by delving into topics outside her current school curriculum. While studying the resources for the regional - and subsequently national - Brain Bee competition, Emmanuela didn’t feel like the assimilation of all the different neurosci-ence concepts were a burden, but rather enjoyed reviewing the new information she had learned. Furthermore, participating in this competition helped Emmanuela to improve her self-esteem and confidence, as well as building an invaluable foun-dation of knowledge for her future plans. In fact, she plans to pursue a career in the medical field, in which neurology is certainly one of the possible choices for her spe-ciality of choice.

United KingdomEmmanuela Obaro

36

Neuroscience Inspired

Brain BudsBRAIN BUDS is a non-profit venture dedicated to spark general public’s interest and provide creative education in science. The project is the private outreach of two PhDs in Neuroscience, who use their free time to hand-craft jewelry and create artworks inspired by brain research. BrainBuds products are accompanied by labels explaining the rationale or scientific concept behind them in simple words.

The beautiful artistic work displayed during the 2018 International Brain Bee was contributed by the following neuroscientists….

37

Neuroscience InspiredMatteo Farinella

Matteo Farinella, author of Neurocomic, received a PhD in neuroscience from UCL in 2013. He combines his scientific expertise with a life-long passion for drawing, collaborat-ing with universities and educational institu-tions around the world to make science more fun and accessible. As a special gift to the student participants of the 2018 international Brain Bee, use MatteoBrainBee to recieve a 45% on all Nobrow & Flying Eye book titles.

https://nobrow.net/

38

sci ARTHi! I am Catarina Luis a PhD in neurosci-ence, of namely my research studies focused on neurological mechanisms of addiction. I love learning and science! As I love spreading that love, I’m deeply involved in science com-munication and outreach, not only by being

part of the amazing brain bee team, as graphic design coordinator, but also perform-ing science slams! So much fun! Recently I founded Sci-ART platform for science visualization and illustration that embodies my two greatest passions, complex sci-ence and visually communicating it! Through Sci-ART I hope to support others in tell-ing their scientific stories in a efficient, engaging manner!

Thank you!The 2018 International Brain Committee is truly grateful for the generous

academic and society partners which made this program possible...