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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
Protecting the heart
Scientists led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and University of Cambridge have developed a new drug that could help reduce the tissue damage that occurs following a heart attack, stroke or major surgery. Tests in mice have shown that the compound, called MitoSNO, protects heart tissue from reperfusion injury, which occurs when blood flow […]
Sustainable building in the US
Over the last decade, real-estate industry professionals in the US have become increasingly aware that construction and operation practices for buildings need to be re-imagined to reduce the impact of the built environment on the natural world. Thorough scientific research around the world has confirmed that climate change is occurring and greenhouse gases emitted by […]
Potential for success
Anthony Hylick [2005] says being at the University of Cambridge literally changed his life and now he wants to help others fulfill their potential. To that end he has published a book with his former college room-mates which aims to motivate young people to follow their passions. He has also formed an organisation whose aim […]
Imperial Gothic
A groundbreaking book on the global reach and influence of the Gothic Revival movement in architecture and its close links with 18th- and 19th-century British cultural politics has been published by a Gates Cambridge alumnus. In his new book Imperial Gothic, Alex [George] Bremner, now a senior lecturer in architectural history at the University of […]
Scholars tell their stories
Teach for America, running a B & B, dancesport and an open source movement to provide light to poor households form part of a session of stories about Gates Cambridge Scholars this week. Rebecca Berrens [2012], who is doing a PhD in Biological Sciences focused on epigenetic reprogramming in mammalian development, will talk about her […]
Scholar speaks at House of Commons
A Gates Cambridge Scholar spoke about his research on Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood at the House of Commons this week. Raphael Lefevre [2012], a research associate at the Center for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa where he specializes on political Islam in Lebanon and Syria, is the author […]
Gates Cambridge announces new Provost
One of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Professor Barry Everitt, has been appointed the next Provost (CEO) of Gates Cambridge. Professor Everitt, currently Master of Downing College, Cambridge and a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences, has been included on a list of the 100 most cited neuroscientists. He succeeds […]
Talking TED
A Gates Cambridge Scholar will speak about his research into the creation of non-embryonic stem cells at a TEDxOxbridge event in Oxford in June. Stan Wang [2011] will speak on 1st June about the research he has been doing on non-embryonic stem cells for use in regenerative medicine with recent Nobel Prize winner, Sir John […]
Gates Cambridge seeks Programme Assistant
Programme Assistant – Gates Cambridge Gates Cambridge is looking for a Programme Assistant to join its small friendly team in its Bridge Street offices. The Programme Assistant will be the most junior member of the team and will report to the Programme Administrator. The Gates Cambridge Scholarships are the University of Cambridge’s flagship international scholarship […]
Bones of contention
Why is childbirth sometimes so difficult, compared to the experience of other animals? Victoria Tobolsky [2012] is looking for clues in our evolutionary history. She is studying modern women’s pelvic capacity and its links to childbirth difficulties. Her interest centres on how factors like nutrition and an unstable environment impact on pelvic development, but she […]
