BANGALORE: Students of Bangalore seem to be on a winning spree as far as international competitions go. After a group of boys bagged an award at the Harvard Model UN convention recently, a city girl has won the International Brain Bee competition in Washington DC. Gayathri Muthukumar , a Class 12 student of National Public School, Indiranagar , represented India at the international challenge after winning the national finals in Mumbai.

Brain Bee, which tests a student's knowledge in neurosciences, had students from 17 countries in the finals held from August 7-10. There were five rounds. Round 1 had 25 questions based on materials provided to the competitors well in advance. A neuroanatomy section followed, in which students were provided clues to identify 25 parts of the brain. Next, they were tasked with recognizing microscopic images of the brain, as part of a neurohistology test. Later, participants had to diagnose diseases enacted by 10 doctors. They could ask questions and take the help of two reports. The last round comprised a Q and A session based on case studies.

"After the national finals, I approached two doctors from Nimhans to learn anatomy and histology . I attended class es for a week during my holidays. A neurosurgeon from Narayana Hrudayalaya guided me in disease diagnosis," said an excited Gayathri. "It was a close competition. Students from other countries like Australia had prepared well," she said recalling her experience.

The 17-year-old is yet to decide whether to pursue medical research or become a physician. "At the school level, we don't have much exposure to such high-level Biology. But once I started learning, it grew more and more interesting.Then there was no looking back,“ said Gayathri, who's an avid learner of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam. Diagnosis is fun The part I like the most is diagnosis of diseases. It's where I can apply my knowledge the most. You have to keep your head cool and then think. I want to pursue a career related to neurosciences." said Gayathri.