UNE hosts high school students for annual neuroscience competition

Students from several high schools came to UNE for the Southern Maine Brain Bee, an annual neuroscience competition
Students from several high schools came to UNE for the Southern Maine Brain Bee, an annual neuroscience competition

Twenty-three students from local high schools competed in the 2020 Southern Maine Brain Bee hosted by UNE’s Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences (CEN).

Students competed in a spelling bee-like neuroscience competition, with the winner having the opportunity to compete at the National Brain Bee.

Participating schools included Biddeford High School, Thornton Academy, and Acton-Boxborough Regional High School from Massachusetts.

This year’s competition went into a sudden death round with first place being captured by Chris Sousounis of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. Thornton Academy students Maya Trahan and Chase Buzzell finished second and third.

Prior to the match, students participated in sheep brain dissections organized by the CEN K-12 Outreach Program and were given guided anatomy tours of human brain tissue samples provided by College of Osteopathic Medicine students.

Jennifer Malon, M.P.H. ’14, CEN program manager, organized the event.

“This is a great event for all participants—volunteers and students alike,” she stated. “The medical fellows gave an amazing anatomy lesson prior to the competition, which really made the bee extra special.”

Ian Meng, Ph.D., director of CEN, served as master of ceremonies for the event.

 

 

Chase Buzzell, Maya Trahan, and Chris Sousounis were top finishers in the competition
Chase Buzzell, Maya Trahan, and Chris Sousounis were top finishers in the competition

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.