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Jennifer Forbes
Communications & Public Affairs
732-235-6356, jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu
Eleventh-grade Student from North Hunterdon High School Wins
Central New Jersey Brain Bee Competition at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
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From l. to r.: Dr. Michael Matise, associate professor; third place winner, Saahith Pochiraju; first place winner, Douglas Judice; second place winner Ibanca Anand; and Dr. Cheryl Dreyfus, chair of Neuroscience and Cell Biology. |
PISCATAWAY, NJ – Douglas Judice, an eleventh grade student at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, NJ, won the 2012 Central New Jersey Regional Brain Bee on Saturday, February 4, beating 35 other high school students who participated in the event held at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Douglas also had participated in the 2011 Central New Jersey Brain Bee, placing second. In addition to a cash prize, Douglas received an expense-paid trip for two to compete in the National Brain Bee Competition at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, March 4-5, 2012.
Modeled after a traditional spelling bee, the Brain Bee is a live question and answer competition in which students are quizzed about the human brain and central nervous system. During three rounds of competition, the contestants answer questions derived from the book Brain Facts, published by the Society for Neuroscience.
Ibanca Anand an eleventh-grade student from North Brunswick High School, placed second and eleventh grader, Saahith Pochiraju, from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School placed third in the competition. This year's participants included students from high schools in Basking Ridge, East Brunswick, Edison, Egg Harbor Township, Hightstown, Matawan, Sayreville, and West Deptford, among others.
Prizes were provided by the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Additional sponsorship also was provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
The event, held for the second time at
Robert Wood Johnson Medical
School, was organized and judged by faculty
members and graduate
students of the Department
of Neuroscience & Cell Biology.
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About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find us online at www.Facebook.com/RWJMS and www.twitter.com/UMDNJ_RWJMS.
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