Welcome to the 2024 USA Brain Bee Championship
The 2024 USA Brain Bee Championship will be held at the University of Central Florida April 19-21.
Afternoon of April 19 - optional social activities
April 20 - Competition Day 1
April 21 - Competition Day 2 (will conclude by 2pm to allow for travel)
The USA Brain Bee was founded in 1998 by Dr. Norbert Myslinski at the University of Maryland and is co-directed by Dr. Norbert Myslinski and Dr. Manuella Oliveira Yassa. Each year, high schoolers around the world compete in local Brain Bee competitions. Winners of local USA Brain Bee competitions are invited to advance to compete in the USA National Brain Bee Championship.
Prizes of $1,500, $1000 and $500 will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners of the USA Brain Bee Championship. The first place winner will be invited to participate in the International Brain Bee Championship.
2024 Championship Logistics
Registration for the 2024 USA Brain Bee Championship is now open. All participants and their chaperones must register. A registration fee of $400 shall be paid by credit card via a link provided to each local winner. The registration fee will cover an event shirt, lunch on Saturday for the participant and lunch on Sunday for the participant and their chaperone.
Please plan to arrive Friday, April 19. The championship will officially begin Saturday morning April 20 and will conclude Sunday by 2:00pm.
Friday April 19 - Participants arrive, optional social activities in the afternoon.
Saturday April 20 - Competition Day 1
Sunday April 21 - Competition Day 2. The competition will conclude by 2pm to allow for travel.
Competition Sections Include:
- Written Test - Students will be asked to complete a multiple-choice exam with questions based on BrainFacts and Neuroscience: the Science of the Brain (PDFs of both books are available for free)
- Human Neuroanatomy - Students will be asked to rotate between stations and identify names/functions of brain structures from human brains.
- Neurohistology - Students will be asked to rotate between stations and identify photos or histological sections. A bank of possible answers will be provided.
- MRI - Students will be asked to rotate between stations and identify structures on MRI images.
- Patient Diagnosis - Students rotate between stations where they will be provided with case studies describing patients who each have a neurological or psychological disorder. Students will be allowed to order three tests per station. Students will then use the description and the results of the test to select the appropriate diagnosis from the list of disorders below. The National Library of Medicine website (www.nlm.nih.org) includes a Medical Encyclopedia of Medline-Plus, which can be used as a study guide.
- Huntington's Disease
- Parkinson's Disease
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Autism
- Epilepsy
- Stroke
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Narcolepsy
- Korsakoff's Syndrome
- Phobia
- Major Depression
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Alcohol Addiction
- Tourette's Syndrome
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Cerebral Palsy
- Oral Question/Answer - Students are asked questions one at a time in front of a panel of judges. Students record their answers on an answer sheet and state their answers orally to the judges. These questions will be fill-in-the-blank or free response. Responses will be 1-5 words.
*the sections described above are subject to change.
Please note: you must have won a regional Brain Bee to be eligible to compete in the USA Brain Bee. If you would like to confirm your eligibility, please email Dr. Manuella Oliveira Yassa (Manuella.Yassa@uci.edu)
Travel Information
The closest airports to the University of Central Florida are the Orlando Sanford (SFB) airport (12.3 miles away) and the Orlando (MCO) airport (13.6 miles away).
Lodging Information
2024 USA Brain Bee participants are encouraged to stay at the Celeste Hotel Orlando at 4105 North Alafaya Trail, Orlando Florida.
Celeste Hotel
4105 North Alafaya Trail
Orlando, Florida
(407) 207-4700
A group rate of $179/night is available for USA Brain Bee participants. Click here to book in the group.
International Brain Bee
The International Brain Bee Competition is sponsored by 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). Learn more about the International Brain Bee here.