Shenendehowa Junior Wins 2026 Albany Regional Brain Bee
Sam Vadivelu, a junior at Shenendehowa High School, bested nearly 40 other contestants to win the eleventh annual Albany Regional Brain Bee on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Emily Qiao, a ninth-grader at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, placed second and Hamsini Subramanian, an eleventh-grader at Guilderland High School, finished third.
Hosted by Albany Medical College’s Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics (DNET) since 2016, the Albany Brain Bee is part of a worldwide neuroscience competition for teenagers, designed to test their academic knowledge of neuroscience and their neuroscientific skills.
“This year’s event brought contestants from across the region together for an exciting day of neuroscience competition that celebrated academic excellence, fostered mentorship, and inspired the next generation of neuroscientists,” said Ellinor Grinde, co-chair of the Albany Brain Bee and an instructor in DNET.
All of the students completed two rigorous rounds of multiple-choice questions about the brain. The top 10 scorers then advanced to a final round, where they applied their knowledge of the brain to practical tasks, including identifying brain regions on real brain models and analyzing videos and images demonstrating neurological disorders.
In two panel discussions, undergraduate and graduate students from local colleges and universities—including Albany Medical College doctoral student Sophia Jackson and Albany Medical College medical student Riane Richard—offered their insights into preparing for college, pursuing neuroscience degrees, and applying to medical or graduate school.
As the winner of the regional Brain Bee, Vadivelu qualifies for the USA National Brain Bee Championship, which will be held at the University of California Irvine in April. The winner of the national championship will advance to the 2026 International Brain Bee World Championship, held virtually in November in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
