Levittown High School Wins 2020 Long Island Science Competition

LEVITTOWN, NY — Island Trees High School in Levittown took first place Sunday at the 2020 Long Island Brain Bee, a regional high school science competition held at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. The event aims to expose young scholars to the study of the brain and motivate early career interest in the fields of neuroscience research and clinical sciences.

"This is the first time my school has entered the Brain Bee, and we won, it is a proud moment," Sheryl Lin, a senior at Island Trees who participated in the competition with a fellow classmate, said in a district news release.

This year's competitor pool included more than 50 students ages 14 to 18 from 22 high schools in New York City, Nassau and Suffolk counties. Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School, the defending champion since 2017, also participated. Junior Hannah Quintin and sophomore Dara Neumann of POBJFK earned a buzzworthy second- and third-place finish, respectively.

"Our science teacher and students from our school who have participated in the past helped us a lot in preparing for the contest," Neumann said. "We learned so much today from being in the lab and from the doctors and student volunteers — we had a great time."

Maya Frankfurt, Brain Bee judge and Zucker School of Medicine professor of science education,described the science competition as a highly interactive day. Undergraduate biology students, medical students, faculty and staff volunteer their time to support the event.

"It is a fantastic opportunity for young people to learn about what is happening in science and medicine, talk to people in the field, and consider where a career in neuroscience can take them," Frankfurt said.

The Brain Bee is the first leg of a nationwide competition and is among many one-day contests throughout the United States. First-place finishers in regional contests advance to the national championship, which is supported by the Society for Neuroscience. There, they'll compete for a chance to match wits on a world stage at the International Brain Bee.

The Long Island event consisted of two rounds of testing, including a written test of multiple-choice questions based on Brain Facts — published by the neuroscience society — and a practical exam following a series of lab demonstrations to identify anatomical structures and functions in human brain specimens. In addition to testing, contestants participate in a charades-style round in which they identify brain disorders, treatments, and diagnostic tools based on skits performed by Zucker School of Medicine students. Participants also learned about the importance of scientific discovery to advance understanding of the brain and the treatment of neurological disorders from researchers in the field.

"I am considering a career in molecular cell biology, the competition was a great way to connect my interest in neuroscience," said Lin, who will be attending Johns Hopkins University this fall. "The best part is that I have met so many people from different schools, everyone is so smart!"

Lin, this year's head of the hive, earned a trip to go head-to-head with regional contest winners at the 2020 national championship, which will take place March 27-29 at Northeast Ohio Medical School. She'll also be able to participate in summer study at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.