February 12, 2019 | Glendale, AZ

From left to right: Mountain Ridge High School student Shiu Shah (2nd place), and BASIS Chandler students Latavya Chintada (1st place) and Shreya Sreekantham (3rd place).

On Monday, February 4th, Midwestern University welcomed some of Arizona's top high school students for the annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee, an educational competition similar to a spelling bee that focuses on neuroscience. The 2019 Arizona Regional Brain Bee at Midwestern University was presented in partnership with the BHHS Legacy Foundation.

This year, 88 students from 14 Arizona high schools from as far away as Bagdad and Bisbee converged on the University's Glendale Campus to test their knowledge of the human brain, how it governs human behavior, and the science that helps medical professionals understand brain function.

The top three Brain Bee finishers, in order, were Latavya Chintada from BASIS Chandler, Shiu Shah from Mountain Ridge High School, and Shreya Sreekantham from BASIS Chandler. Ms. Chintada took top honors this year after finishing second in last year's Brain Bee and third two years ago. BASIS Chandler won the team prize for the overall high score for the fifth straight year.

For her performance in the Brain Bee, Ms. Chintada won a $2,000 scholarship towards tuition in any Midwestern University program at either the University's Glendale Campus or the campus in Downers Grove, Illinois, as well as travel expenses to help her as she competes at the upcoming USA Regional Brain Bee Championship in Hershey, PA.

Midwestern University faculty and students served as judges, question readers, timers, and scorekeepers for the Brain Bee. Questions ran the gamut from identifying physical features of the brain itself to naming brain disorders and diseases to surgical and medical practices that modify neural behaviors.