High school students from all over Los Angeles came to   Los Angeles City College on February 28th in the hopes of winning  the first Los Angeles Brain Bee.

Contestants were asked questions about the brain in three rounds, each of which increased in difficulty. The first round consisted on a written portion, the second round was set up in a jeopardy format and the final round was an oral session. 
The competition has been developed by the Society of Neuroscience as part of an initiative to increase public knowledge on brain research.  Currently there are over 30 different Brain Bee’s hosted across the United States, however this will be the first one to take place in Los Angeles.
Participating schools included Walnut High School, Chaminade College Preparatory High School, Verdugo Hills High School, Manual Arts High School, Belmont High School and Ulysses S. Grant High School.

The winner of the bee was Ulysses S. Grant High School 10th grader Zohal Ghulam-Jelani. Second place, went to Sean Batir from Chaminade College Preparatory High School and third place was taken by Jessica Yu who attends Walnut High school.  In addition to receiving a $300 stipend and a trophy, she will also be traveling to the University of Maryland to compete in the National Brain Bee later this month.

When asked how she prepared for the bee, Zohal stated she started studying in December by making note cards and continuously studying them.  Zohal is Afghan and her plans for the future are “to go to a good college, go to medical school and become a neurosurgeon because I love helping people. I will also help people who are less fortunate than others by giving to charity or other organizations.”  When asked to comment on the Brain Bee, she stated, “The Brain Bee was a great experience and I learned a lot. It was a good accomplishment for me. The other contestants were very smart and talented.  “

Amy Sweetman, a Professor of Psychology who sponsored the event, commented that it was a great learning experience.  “ I was amazed at the neuroscience knowledge that the candidates demonstrated.  Los Angeles is truly fortunate to have such incredible talent at their local high schools.”   The next Los Angeles Brain Bee will be held in January 2010.  Details can be found at http://www.losangelesbrainbee.com