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More than 60 outstanding Year 10 students from WA are preparing for the competition of their young lives after winning a place in the WA State Finals of the Australian Brain Bee Challenge (ABBC) at The University of Western Australia next week.

The students outsmarted 465 teenagers from 21 schools in a multiple-choice neuroscience quiz to make the top 70 .

But the hard work is only just beginning for the finalists from 16 schools*, who will travel to UWA from schools around the State to compete in the June 25 event.  They will take part in a brain-teasing team challenge and neuroscience quiz to test their knowledge of the brain and how it works.  They will also be given an exclusive tour of UWA's world-class facilities and meet with renowned scientific researchers.

"I was amazed at the level of neuroscience understanding shown by last year's State finalists," State Coordinator and UWA Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger said.  "These Year 10 students have a depth of knowledge expected of university undergraduates in the UWA Neuroscience Major.  I look forward to meeting this year's competitors and hosting the inevitably nail-bitingly close finals on the 25 ^th of June."

ABBC National Co-ordinator and neuroscientist Professor Linda Richard said the competition gave students a feel for what a career in neuroscience might be like.  The very best students from around the state would be allowed to explore the facilities and be challenged in a fun and exciting competition.

"Neurological and mental illness account for a huge proportion of the disease burden in our community so we need to attract the best and brightest minds to take up a career in science," Professor Richard said.

Some 5550 students from 300 schools across Australia and New Zealand took part in the first round of this year's competition.

The student who tops the State Finals will be offered a place in the Australian Brain Bee Challenge National Final, to be held in Adelaide next January at the Australian Neuroscience Society Annual Conference.

ABBC is supported by major sponsors, QBI and UQ, along with the Australian Neuroscience Society, ADInstruments Carl Zeiss and Generation One.

* The Australian Brain Bee Challenge (ABBC) is the country's only neuroscience competition for high school students.  The competition is designed to test school students' knowledge about a range of topics, including intelligence, memory, emotions, sleep, Alzheimer's disease and stroke.

Schools participating in the State Final include:

Austin Cove Baptist College

Belridge Senior High School

Bunbury Catholic College

Goldfields Baptist College (Kalgoorlie)

John Calvin School (Albany)

Methodist Ladies' College

Mount Barker Community College

Perth Modern School

Presbyterian Ladies' College

Santa Maria College

Shenton College

St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls

St Mark's Anglican Community School

St Mary's College (Broome)

St Mary's Anglican Girls' School

Woodvale Senior High School.

Media references

Associate Professor Jenny Rodger (NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, UWA School of Animal Biology)  (+61 4) 11 844 103
Mikaeli Costello (QBI Media and Communications Manager)  (+61 4) 01 580 685
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783