Rutgers Gets Ready for Hosting National Brain Bee Competition

The medical school in New Brunswick announces winners of their 2025 regional Brain Bee and starts preparations for the national competition in May 2025

On February 22, three winners were announced at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Brain Bee competition, sponsored by the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology.

Christian Chryssos and his twin brother Demetri Chryssos from Monmouth County Academy for Allied Health & Sciences placed first and second, respectively. This was their second time at the Bee, and not only did they win on Saturday, but they also celebrated their 16th birthday. The third-place winner was Eesha Vanamala from Morris Knolls High School in Rockaway.

The Chryssos brothers are not the first winners from their high school. Last year’s winner, Charles Solazzo, is also a student there. Solazzo reflects on his experiences and why the Brain Bee gave him the challenge he needed in the wake of a season-ending sports injury.

“It’s not just the competition and winning,” said Solazzo, who is finishing his final year at Monmouth County Academy for Allied Health & Sciences in Neptune. “It’s more about everything you learn, the fun you have and the people you meet.”

Since its inception in 1998, Brain Bee, which encourages high school students to pursue careers in brain research and treatment of neurological disorders, has inspired thousands of students to pursue careers in neuroscience, according to the organization. In 2022, Anmol Bahita, a 17-year-old student at Watchung Hills Regional High School, won the national Brain Bee competition after coming in first in the Rutgers-Newark Brain Bee. He went on to finish second in the international competition.

There are very few opportunities for high school students to learn about what real scientists do in their labs every day. That’s why I really like this program. It offers students a wonderful opportunity.

Michael Matise

Associate Professor, Dept. of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Students use Brain Facts, a publication of the Society for Neuroscience, to prepare for the competition. The first round starts out with a written test of 45 questions, followed by an oral round-robin test, and finally a Jeopardy-style question-and-answer format, offered to the top 10 students, results in the winner.

Michael Matise, an associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at RWJMS who has headed the Central New Jersey Brain Bee since 2011, said the Brain Bee allows neuroscientists the opportunity to provide information to high school students about career paths and research opportunities.

Before Rutgers took over the regional Brain Bee, Matise and Cheryl Dreyfus, Distinguished Professor and chair in the department, were judges at the event.

“When I was in high school, even though I was interested in biology and science, I didn’t know about research until my sophomore year in college when I took a neuroscience course,” said Matise, whose Neuroscience and Cell Biology department sponsors the event. “There are very few opportunities for high school students to learn about what real scientists do in their labs every day, that’s why I really like this program. It offers students a wonderful opportunity.”

Matise said he and Steven Levison, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience at New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), coordinate the annual Brain Bee events held at RWJMS and NJMS. The NJMS Brain Bee is sponsored by the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.

Students competing in the Brain Bee learn how the brain relates to memory, emotions, intelligence, sensations, movements, stress, sleep disorders, aging and a range of brain disorders. They hear from undergraduate and graduate students involved in neuroscience programs and learn about the research opportunities at Rutgers and career opportunities for them in the future, Matise said.

“We have a huge university and a ton of cutting-edge neuroscience research possibilities that we want students to hear about,” Matise said. “At the same time, we get to encourage and promote their interest in science and medicine and future academic careers.”

Solazzo said the Brain Bee competition was a little nerve-wracking but something he will never regret entering.

“I remember we kept going back and forth at the end with question and answer because we both got them right,” he said.

Then came the question about what mutation causes Tay-Sachs disease, a rare, inherited disorder that affects the nervous system and can lead to paralyze.

“I wrote down my answer on the whiteboard and thought he would get it right, but he didn’t,” Solazzo said. “I was happy to win, but I never thought I was better, maybe just lucky.”

Another regional competition will take place in Newark at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) on March 16. The national Brain Bee competition will be held May 2-4 on the campus of RWJMS, the first time the national competition has been held at Rutgers.