Approximately 55 secondary school pupils from the St. Louis area and other locations assessed their understanding of the human brain and discovered career opportunities in neuroscience during the 15th annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee on March 8 at Washington University in St. Louis.

Shreenik Enturi, a junior at Fort Zumwalt South High School, emerged victorious in this year’s contest after securing third place in the 2024 Brain Bee. He will now represent in the 2025 USA Brain Bee Championship, scheduled for May 3-4 at Rutgers University. Enturi has aspirations of becoming a psychiatrist.

“I simply enjoy understanding why individuals act in certain ways, such as what in our brains prompts the actions we engage in daily,” Enturi expressed, gesturing toward his head.

Participants also engaged in experiments and examined career paths alongside local neuroscientists.

The yearly gathering is coordinated by Erik Herzog, the Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, along with Synapse, WashU’s student neuroscience organization. This year’s student coordinators—Shriya Koneru, Rohan Rao, and Alice Xu—all took part in high school Brain Bee events. Notably, Koneru and Rao faced off against one another at the 2021 St. Louis Area Brain Bee. Rao claimed victory in that contest and later achieved eighth place nationally at the USA Brain Bee. He mentioned that the St. Louis event played a crucial role in his decision to apply to WashU and pursue neuroscience.

“Just getting to peruse brain facts in my leisure time was incredibly enjoyable,” Rao reminisced. “I recall reading through brain facts repeatedly that I eventually started to read it in reverse. I believe that inspiration for neuroscience was a significant takeaway from the experience.”

The Brain Bee is supported by WashU’s Institute for School Partnership, McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, and McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, as well as the Dana Foundation and the Society for Neuroscience.

Top 10 Finalists of the St. Louis Area Brain Bee

Shreenik Enturi, Fort Zumwalt South High School

Aalee Khan, Ladue Horton Watkins High School

Ajay Kota, Centennial High School (Frisco, Texas)

Ethan Johnson, Central High School (Springfield, Mo.)

Hannah Mathew, Parkway Central High School

Yule Zheng, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School

Ira Rodrigues, Ladue Horton Watkins High School

Nakshatra Mohan, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School (Broadview Heights, Ohio)

Hansika Gonuguntla, Marquette High School

Meghana Hebbar, Parkway South High School

The article St. Louis high school students compete, meet experts at WashU Brain Bee was originally published on The Source.