Gayathri Muthukumar (17), a class XII student of the National Public School, Indiranagar, Bangalore, is the newly crowned Season Seven champion of the Indian National Brain Bee 2014 — an all-India competition open to class XI students. Launched by the Mumbai-based Seven Hills Hospitals, the objective of this annual competition is to inspire youth to seek careers in basic and clinical neurosciences. Before she became national champion on April 20, Gayathri bested 3,600 entrants from 180 schools in the 240-minute final staged in Mumbai. As this year’s winner she bagged a trophy, laptop, certificate and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington DC, to participate in the 16th International Brain Bee finals scheduled for August 7-10.

“My parents and elder sister, an IIT-Madras graduate, mentored me through the entire process, as all of them are keenly interested in science. I’m also grateful to my teachers for encouraging me to participate and helping me prepare for this unique event,” says this younger of two daughters of Kalyan, principal engineer, Intel India, and Vijaya, a homemaker.

Eminent neurologists including Dr. Susheel Wadhwa of the Narayana Hrudayalaya (Bangalore), Dr. Subhash Kaul, head of department (neurology) at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (Hyderabad), and Brig. S.P. Gorthi, professor and head of department (neurology), Army Hospital (New Delhi), adjudged the competition which comprised a quiz, a written brain anatomy test and doctor-patient simulation rounds.

The National Brain Bee has been “excellently designed” to provide exposure to youth interested in the medical sciences. “The biology education we receive in high school is very elementary. The competition goes well beyond school curriculums and stimulates students to explore nuances of the neurosciences,” says Gayathri who’s also a trained classical dancer.

Although a career in biological research/medicine after class XII is a natural progression, Gayatri wants to keep her options open. “Right now I am preparing real hard to make an impact at the International Brain Bee finals in Washington,” she says.

Bon Voyage!

Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)