Pacific Palisades resident Charlotte Starling tied for second place in the Los Angeles Brain Bee on January 25. The Marymount High School junior competed against 70 other high school students from across Los Angeles in the all-day event at USC.
After a written test and an anatomy practicum, the top six scorers proceeded to a semi-final “Jeopardy”-style round, and then to a final trivia round. Starling was the only female to make it to the final round.
“I answered questions such as ‘Name the two genes that if mutated cause Turbeous Sclerosis Complex (TSC1 and TSC2),’ which is a disorder related to and has a lot of the same symptoms as autism,” Starling told the Palisadian-Post. She was also asked to explain where the orexin neurons are located. “This answer [the lateral hypothalamus-the ventrolateral reoptic nucleus] got me into the top three.”
Other questions Starling answered correctly included: What is strabismus? (disease in which the eyes are not properly aligned and point in opposite directions); What is the current treatment for Parkinson’s disease? (levodopa a synthetic dopamine); and What is the current treatment for Alzheimer’s disease? (drugs that inhibit the release of the enzyme acetyl cholinesterase).
The question that bumped her from first to second place was, What disease develops when orexin neurons are lacking? “I answered insomnia, but it was actually narcolepsy,” she said.
While completing a neuroscience course at USC last summer, Starling was encouraged to enter the competition by her professor Bruce Teter, a neuromolecular biologist.
The young Palisadian then spent the next six months independently preparing and studying for the competition. She credits her current love of science to Marymount teacher Lynn St. Hilaire.
“Science was not my favorite subject before taking classes here,” Starling said. “Studying anatomy with her changed my views of science completely because her enthusiasm about anatomy was contagious. It quickly became my favorite class.”
Starling, who attended Village School, also lists chemistry and math as favorite classes. “I like these subjects because they are organized and straightforward,” she said, adding that it is hard to focus on school right now. “I just bought a 1,694-page neuroscience book because I want to learn more.”
At the Brain Bee competition, Starling won a paperweight with a hologram of a brain inside. “It was awesome,” she said, noting that in college she wants to major in biology and neuroscience. “I hope to become a neurosurgeon someday.”
Starling is the daughter of Brad Starling and Hylda Queally.
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