Enriching competitive minds
Encouraging students to pursue biology as a career, the Diamond Bar High School Neuroscience Club provides opportunities for students to explore the more complex aspects of neurology.
On Jan. 28, the club competed at the University of California, Irvine, in the Brain Bee. The annual competition tests students on the comprehensive material the club reviews throughout the year.
“There were a lot of chances to talk with professors and researchers about neuroscience and meet really smart peers, so that was great,” senior Bonnie Nien said. “It really opens your eyes to how deep neuroscience is and how much we don’t know, which actually equals a lot of opportunities for us as high schoolers.”
Top performers from DBHS included Nien, placing first in the regional competition. Nien will go on to compete in the national rounds, for a chance to compete at the international level.
“There is a round one, that is a written exam, and then top scorers go to round two. That is a live question and answer style, but exact logistics and scoring depends,” Nien said.
Beyond the constraints of the classroom, the club is able to expand on topics not typically taught to students. The club members are passionate about these topics and raising awareness on the importance of neuroscience.
“Human and machine intelligence must have some fundamental principles in common, and scientists have been conducting research on the area,” junior Emily Ren said. “That is the part of the neuroscience field that fascinates me most.”
The connection between the brain and the way life through a series of interactions is the common thread for members of neuroscience, all of whom are passionate about exploring the ins and outs of neurology.
“Although all of biology is the study of life, neuroscience is directly about what controls us and makes us the people we are,” Nein said. “That is why it’s so important to study the brain; to learn how it works so we can learn how ourselves as people work,”
Throughout the year, the club prepares for the Brain Bee competition through neuroscience lectures and consistent practice with possible test questions. In the future, the club hopes to expand their range of activities through websites, research collaborations and live labs or experiments including dissections.
“I hope our club can get more people interested in neuroscience or inspired by biology in general,” Nien said, “We want to spread the importance of neuroscience and help our members get involved in the neuro community.”
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