Tenth Grade Student from Matawan Regional High School Wins Central New Jersey Brain Bee Competition at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Adam Elliot, a tenth-grade student at Matawan Regional High School, won the 2014 Central New Jersey Regional Brain Bee, defeating 55 other high school students who participated in the event held at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Adam earned an expense-paid trip for two to compete in the National Brain Bee Competition at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, March 14-15, 2014.

Modeled after a traditional spelling bee, the Brain Bee is a live question and answer competition during 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.

John Yan, an eleventh grader from East Brunswick High School placed second in the central New Jersey competition and Ronald Wang, a tenth-grade student of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, placed third. Participants in the competition came from high schools from throughout New Jersey. Matawan Regional High School was represented by 20 students, two of which made the final round of competition.

Held for the fourth year in a row at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the event was coordinated by Michael Matise, PhD, associate professor in the department of neuroscience and cell biology, with the support of Cheryl Dreyfus, PhD, chair of the department. Faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students who conduct research at the medical school served as the competition’s judges.  Prizes were provided by the department and the Office of the Dean at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.