CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee 2021 Participants

Brandon student wins “Best Brain” in Canada!

Congratulations to our top three winners!

1. Antoni Klonowski, Vincent Massey High School, Brandon.
2. Leo Li, Guelph Vocational Institute, Guelph.
3. Srijan Velamuri, Trinity College School, Toronto.

On June 4, 2021, 16 of Canada’s “brainiest” high school students competed virtually in the 13th Annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee championship, hosted by McMaster University. The competition was highly anticipated after the event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. The competition tested participants’ knowledge of neuroscience and the brain through a variety of challenges. Some of these challenges included a multiple-choice test, a short answer quiz, and a 45-minute case study competition.

The first-place winner of the 2021 CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee competition was Antoni Klonowski, the winner of the Winnipeg Brain Bee. Antoni earned the title of “Best Brain” in Canada by answering a series of 20 short answer questions about memory, sleep, intelligence, mental illness, aging, neurology, neurotransmitters, genetics and brain disease.

The top three winners of the competition took home personal trophies and scholarship prizes of $1,500, $1,000 and $500 respectively. As the first-place winner, Antoni was also awarded a Brain Bee trophy to display in his school for one year and the opportunity to work in a Canadian neuroscience laboratory this summer.

Antoni represented Canada at the 2021 World Brain Bee championship held virtually, November 5-8, 2021. He placed third among 43 participants.

About the CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee

The CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee (CCNBB) is an annual event that brings together some of Canada’s brightest high school students to test their knowledge of neuroscience, neuroanatomy and brain research. Each year, the first-place winner of the National Brain Bee is awarded $1,500, an opportunity to work in a neuroscience laboratory, and the title of “Best Brain” in Canada. The winner also moves on to represent Canada at the International Brain Bee competition, an annual event that has been held in different cities around the world since 1998.

The CCNBB is hosted by McMaster University and supported by CIHR’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. It was created to generate excitement about neuroscience research among high school students and encourage them to pursue careers in the neuroscience field.

To learn more about the CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee, please visit the official competition website.

Date modified:

2021-09-07