By Margaret Miller

Front (L-R): Aimee Letto, Holy Spirit High School (third place), Sara Messervey, Bishop’s College (first place), Deborah Fry, deputy minister of health and community services. Back (L-R): Brian Fox, Janssen Ortho, John-Paul Murphy, Holy Heart of Mary High School (second place).

Students’ knowledge of the brain was tested with questions such as “Broca’s area is important for what brain function?” (vocal expression) and “If your hippocampus and adjacent brain areas are destroyed, what can’t you do?” (create long-term memories). These questions and many more were posed to the competitors in a quiz show format by celebrity guests, Deborah Fry, deputy minister of Health and Community Services, Pamela Anstey, information officer, Epilepsy Newfoundland and Labrador, and Brian Fox, regional director, Provincial Health Care Relations, Atlantic Canada, Janssen Ortho/Ortho Biotech. The judges were David Laidley, masters student and Dr. Xihua Chen, assistant professor of biological psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine.

This year also marked the second year for the Brain Art Competition in which students were given the chance to develop artwork that recreates the brain of any person in any context. First prize went to Clarissa Smallwood, O’Donel High School, for her untitled piece; second place went to Bethany Keating, Prince of Wales Collegiate, for her piece Complicated; and third place went to Danielle Putt, Holy Spirit High School, for Draining your Brain. Honourable mention was given to Steve Renouf, O’Donel High School for his untitled submission. The Brain Art competition was judged by PhD student and artist Budd Tucker, artist and clinical specialist Dr. Christopher Kovacs, art collector and clinical psychologist Dr. Gerry Mugford and well known local artist Barbara Pratt. The top three received cash prizes donated by Janssen Ortho. All entries receive a certificate of merit and will remain on exhibit in the Health Sciences Centre.

The Brain Storm and Brain Art Competitions are organized to celebrate Brain Awareness Week by the local chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, comprised of researchers and graduate students in the neuroscience program at the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. John McLean has spearheaded the event since its inception five years ago as part of the International Brain Bee which involves local competitions in cities throughout the United States and Canada. According to Dr. McLean, “The Brain Storm competition is a successful way to motivate our youth to learn about the brain, capture their imagination, and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical brain research. At Memorial University we have already seen one of our former competitors go on to study neuroscience.”