Conferences

Granville Teens is a Brainiac

Neurologist Dr. Mourad Abdelmessih shows Phillip Jacoby
models of the human nervous system Thursday evening
(March 8th, 2007) in preparation for Jacoby
competing in the International Brain Bee in Maryland
(Eric George, The Advocate )

Article from The Advocate

By L.B. WHYDE, Advocate Reporter
Monday, March 12, 2007

NEWARK -- While other students studied words for spelling bees, Phillip Jacoby, 15, studied neurology.
Jacoby, a sophomore at Granville Christian Academy, studied the brain in order to compete in the local Brain Bee competition recently at Denison University. He learned, among many other things:

1. The name of the surgical procedure that destroys part of the basal ganglia and helps Parkinson's patients, and;
2. The most common type of inherited mental retardation.

He ended up winning the competition, earning a trip to Baltimore for the International Brain Bee competition, which will be part of Brain Awareness Week, which starts today. Jacoby and his mother, Phyllis, will fly out later this week for the two-day event.

Although it doesn't seem to fit with his plans to be an engineer, Jacoby wanted to participate in the Brain Bee. He has participated in the First Robotics Team of the First Lego League for several years.

"This kind of stuff broadens my thinking," Jacoby said. "I thought I'd give a decent showing (at the local competition), but I didn't think I'd go this far. I'm looking forward to it, as I've never flown before."

The International Brain Bee is a live question-and-answer competition, similar to a spelling bee set-up, that tests the neuroscience knowledge of high school students. High school students from all across North America compete in such topics as intelligence, memory, emotions and stroke. The bee is an attempt to motivate the youth to learn about the brain, capture their imaginations and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical brain research, according to the bee's Web site.

"The hardest part was learning all the brain facts," Jacoby said. "There is so much information."

In order to prepare for the first competition, Jacoby studied a 64-page booklet associated with the event. For the championship, Jacoby studied online the parts of the brain and practiced with Dr. Mourad Abdelmessih, a local neurologist.

Jacoby's ninth-grade honors biology teacher, Candy Hall, recommended he participate in the competition.

"For this championship competition, Phillip will have to identify parts of the brain, and there will be a room where actors will portray certain neurological diseases, and the kids have to diagnose the problem," Hall said.

The winner of the bee will receive $3,000, a trip for two to attend the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting, an individual trophy, a traveling trophy for his or her high school and a fellowship to work in the laboratory of a neuroscientist during the summer, according to the bee's Web site.

"If I win this competition, it would be incredible," Jacoby said. "The others train all year long and even have 'brain' coaches. I just started in January. If I win, I will go into shock."

If you're still wondering about the answers to what Jacoby learned, they are pallidotomy, and fragile X mental retardation.

L. B. Whyde can be reached at 740-328-8513 or lwhyde@newarkadvocate.com