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Benjamin Cocanougher
- Alumni
- United States
- 2016 PhD Zoology
- St Catharine's College
I grew up catching praying mantises and damselflies in rural Kentucky. As an undergraduate at Centre College, I majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; I spent my summers taking care of sick children at the Center for Courageous Kids and doing research in organic chemistry and neuroscience. I matriculated directly to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed my first three years of medical school. I then moved to Janelia Research Campus as a HHMI Medical Research Fellow; there I studied the neural and genetic bases of behavior. As a PhD student in Zoology, I will study adaptive behavior. All animals integrate information about past experience into future decisions; this is the basis of learning and memory. I am proposing to write a specific memory and read the memory trace in the brain. I will use the fruit fly as a model organism. By understanding mechanisms of memory storage, we can begin to investigate changes in memory formation in disease; this may allow us to develop rational therapies for disorders of memory formation, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease. After completing my PhD, I will return to finish my last year of medical school and pursue a career as a child neurologist and neuroscientist, using my lab to better understand the patients I see in clinic.
Previous Education
Centre College
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Latest News
India debates emerging leadership
The rich have most to lose from unequal growth, a leading environmentalist told a Gates Cambridge Alumni Emerging Leadership Summit in New Delhi this week. Dr Ashok Khosla, a recipient of the United Nation’s Sasakawa Environment Prize (equivalent to the Environment Nobel), Chairman of Development Alternatives and a scientific advisor to the Indian government, was […]
Why the energy technology revolution hasn’t happened
Energy technology entrepreneurs need to work more collaboratively with incumbent energy businesses to give them more time and resources while their new energy technologies gain traction in the marketplace, a Gates Cambridge alumnus told a recent TEDx event. In the talk given in Brisbane last month but just posted online this week, Rob Perrons [2001] […]
Good neighbours
Researchers have developed an online tool for using data compiled from social media to create real-time neighbourhood profiles which can be used to recommend specific areas to tourists based on their interests. The research is published in a paper in the Academy of Science and Engineering HUMAN Journal. Gates Cambridge Alumna Amy Zhang is first […]
The rule of law
When she was a child Lindsey Murray said she wanted to be a police officer. Instead she has ended up as a top forensic scientist working in an international war zone and with an interest in the wider issues of how to establish the rule of law in a lawless area. For Lindsey, that embraces […]
Understanding diabetes and heart disease in Africa
Prospective observational studies are needed to understand the growing burden of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The study, Cardiometabolic Risk in a Rural Ugandan Population, led by Georgina Murphy [2009], is published in the journal Diabetes Care. It says that few studies of […]
Understanding diabetes and heart disease in Africa
Prospective observational studies are needed to understand the growing burden of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The study, Cardiometabolic Risk in a Rural Ugandan Population, led by Georgina Murphy [2009], is published in the journal Diabetes Care. It says that few studies of […]
International relations through education
Greg Nance [2011] has been named one of the 99 most influential foreign policy leaders under 33 by the Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, but his citation is not for the normal diplomatic work you might expect. Greg sees education as the key to improving international relations and his organisation ChaseFuture.com, which […]
Healthcare at the touch of a finger
Three Gates Cambridge Scholars are crowdsourcing for a device which will enable community healthworkers in developing countries to access patient records through the touch of a finger. SimPrints is a rugged, low-cost biometric scanner that can sync wirelessly with mobile phones. The technology overcomes many of the challenges of accurate patient identification in developing countries. […]
Communicating science
A Gates Cambridge alumnus has won a prestigious Australian award for his research on renewable energy and for exceptional initiative in science communication. Niraj [Nij] Lal [2008], who did a PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge, has won the 2013 Australian Capital Territory Young Tall Poppy Science Award and The Australian National University […]
Emerging leaders summit in Delhi
Renowned environment expert Dr Ashok Khosla will join distinguished academics and activists from India and the UK to discuss new approaches to global challenges at an emerging leadership summit in Delhi next week. The Emerging Leadership Summit, which takes place at the India International Centre on 13 September, is being organised by the Gates Cambridge […]
