Royal Palm Beach High School junior, Anastasia Colas was the winner of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience’s 2013 Brain Bee Challenge. Sponsored by the Mary and Robert Pew Public Education Fund, the event took place on February 9 inside the Institute’s new 100,000 sq. ft. research center in Jupiter, and included high school students from Palm Beach and Martin counties. The oral competition is similar to a spelling bee in format and designed to test students’ knowledge of neuroscience through a series of questions on topics such as memory, intelligence, stress, emotions and brain disorders.

As first place winner, Colas received $200 and a trip to the National Brain Bee Competition in Baltimore, MD in March timed to coincide with National Brain Awareness Week. Two juniors from Suncoast High School took the second and third place prizes this year. Sanjay Chandrasekhar came in second place and was awarded $125, and Anugya Sood came in third and received $75. This was the second year that Colas and Sood competed in the Brain Bee. In 2012, Colas earned second place and Sood earned third.

“Now that the Brain Bee is in its second year, it’s very exciting to see students return to compete again,” said Dr. Ana Fiallos, Max Planck Florida’s Head of Education Outreach. “This is an important program for the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and our mission to expand and enrich science education programs in our community.”

For more information, please visit www.maxplanckflorida.org