From NOVA to Brain Bee to PNB – lifelong love of neuroscience led to McMaster

Like any eight-year-old, Davina Premraj watched her share of Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place episodes on the Disney Channel.

But unlike most eight-year-olds, Davina was also a diehard fan of NOVA – it’s the most-watched prime time science series on American television.

“We were a PBS family all the way.” Davina’s early viewing habits and love of learning would eventually lead to McMaster.

In high school, Davina joined a team that went to the University of Massachusetts Medical School and competed in the Central Massachusetts Regional Brain Bee. “It was an amazing experience.” One of Davina’s teammates won third place. Davina finished third the following year.

Brain Bee is an annual neuroscience competition for more than 25,000 high school students. The competition was founded by Dr. Norbert Myslinski at the University of Maryland in 1998 with the mission of building better brains to fight brain disorders. Like a spelling bee, students take turns answering skill-testing graduate-level questions about the brain and neuroscience.

It’s a three-tiered competition, with winners of Regional Brain Bees squaring off in National Brain Bees. National winners then compete in the International Brain Bee. Earlier this month, Canada’s National Brain Bee champion – 16-year-old Lisa Wei from Winnipeg – won second place at the International Brain Bee. It’s the fourth consecutive year that a Canadian champion has scored in the top five at the world championship.

At the end of Grade 12, Davina opened a time capsule that she had filled back in Grade 8. She’d been asked to write answers to a series of questions. “What do you want to do when you grow up?” was one of the questions. “Study brain cells” was Davina’s answer, influenced by a NOVA documentary on neuroscience that she’d watched as a kid.

Davina then did her homework on where to study brain cells, looking at American and Canadian universities. She holds dual citizenship and both of her parents studied at Ontario universities. Davina chose McMaster because of the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior’s reputation for leading-edge neuroscience research.

The department also hosts the Hamilton Brain Bee – one of 20 regional competitions across Canada. In her third year at McMaster, Davina reconnected with Brain Bee. She tutored high school students ahead of the competition, studying from the same Brain Facts book she used in her competitions back in Boston. She also served as the co-master of ceremonies for the day-of competition on campus.

Davina took on a bigger role in her fourth year. She was serving as VP Academic for the McMaster Neuroscience Society – volunteering as the undergraduate team lead for Brain Bee is one of the VP’s responsibilities.

Davina created four teams to oversee outreach, tutoring, event planning and the student panel. She then recruited 40 undergrad and graduate students from across the university to fill the teams. “I figured out early on to use social media and enlist the help of admin assistants who knew how to reach students.”

The outreach team then recruited a record number of Grade 9 to 12 students for the 2024 competition. Elena Scurtu from Burlington Central High School won first place, with Stephanie Beti from St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School and Jason Lee from Oakville Trafalgar High School taking second and third place.

Davina worked closely with Associate Professor Nikol Piskuric on the regional Brain Bee, acting as the liaison with the team of student volunteers. “Davina demonstrated incredible project management skills like planning, coordination and communication,” says Nikol, who also serves as Chair of Canada’s CIHR-sponsored National Brain Bee. “Most impressive, Davina did everything with a smile – she was a pleasure to work with and I’m so grateful to have had her support.”

Davina’s now a Master’s student at the University of Toronto in the Institute of Medical Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She’s specializing in the collaborative neuroscience program and working in a lab focused on Alzheimer’s disease and biomarker research. Her goal is to earn her PhD and then become a teaching stream faculty member while also championing science outreach in local communities.

She’s currently serving as deputy director of academic affairs for her program and has signed up to be a guest lecturer. The Toronto Brain Bee is hosted at U of T – Davina is hoping to get involved in the competition for the fifth time at a third university.

The 2025 Hamilton Brain Bee is set for Feb. 21. Davina says she’ll be cheering on both the high school students and McMaster volunteers.