A sign points toward the UAA Brain Bee. Photo by Murat Demir.
The 2025 Alaska Regional Brain Bee took place at UAA in the Social Sciences Building and the Natural Sciences Building on March 22.
The UAA Brain Bee is a neuroscience competition sponsored by Anchorage Neurosurgical Associates that tests high school students’ knowledge of the human brain. Winners of the competition are invited to the National Brain Bee, according to the event’s webpage.
Konnie Towner of Service High School took first place in this year’s Brain Bee, followed by Kendrew Liu, also of Service High, in second place. Lila Steele of Alaska Middle College secured third place.
Students also participated in activities, such as observing laboratory rats and visiting the UAA anatomy lab and planetarium.
The Northern Light interviewed UAA Department of Biological Sciences professor and UAA Brain Bee organizer Dr. Christopher Jung about the Brain Bee.
Jung said the Brain Bee has been held at UAA for 15 years, and many former contestants have volunteered to help run the event.
“We have a couple of undergrad research assistants that helped us with it, and so they volunteered, helped put it on, and now they're in neurology and medicine,” said Jung.
He said it's rewarding to see students come full circle, from being Brain Bee participants to becoming doctors.
The UAA Brain Bee is one of more than 200 Brain Bees held in over 50 countries. The event aims to inspire students to explore neuroscience and help treat neurological and psychological disorders, according to its webpage.
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