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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
The process of history-making
Olin Moctezuma-Burns [2020] is keen not to repeat the patterns of some past researchers and to give back to the communities she studies. For that reason she recently co-organised an international gathering of Imagining Futures projects on archiving indigenous and traditional knowledges in Sotuta, Yucatan. The meeting brought together people from Colombia, Peru, Kenya, Tanzania, […]
How might extreme heat contribute to human migration?
Rising temperatures due to climate change are likely influencing human migration patterns, according to a new study co-authored by Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr Kim van Daalen [2018]. The study, led by Rita Issa of University College London, is published today in the open-access journal PLOS Climate. It looks at the role of heat in human […]
Scholar scoops prestigious science innovation fellowship
Freja Ekman has been named one of the 2023 class of Hertz Fellows as the prestigious fellowship celebrates its 60th year. The 15 fellowships in applied science, engineering and mathematics are awarded by Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a non-profit organisation for innovators in science and technology. Winners will have their graduate studies funded for […]
Scholar hosts first UN communications technology access meeting in India
Gates Cambridge Scholar Pradipta Biswas has hosted a UN meeting on improving access to communications technology – the first ever held in India. The meeting of ITU-T Study Group 9 (SG-9) on “Broadband Cable and Television/Audiovisual content transmission and integrated broadband cable networks” was held in May at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru […]
The role of storytelling in addressing colonial trauma
When she was growing up, Briseyda Barrientos Ariza [2023] spent her childhood summers in rural Guatemala, visiting her grandparents. In the evenings she would listen to her grandfather, a man who couldn’t read or write, tell intricate stories about his and others’ encounters with female folkloric figures. Two stood out in particular: La Llorona and […]
Gates Cambridge colloquia unveils new research
Five Gates Cambridge scholars unveiled their research on everything from conservation in Kenya and early foetal development to female-centred reworkings of the Classics at an event last week. The Gates Cambridge colloquia was held on Friday in front of an audience of scholars and Trustees. Mine Koprulu [2017] spoke about using genetics to understand the […]
Two scholars win Bill Gates Sr Award 2023
Two outstanding scholars have won this year’s Bill Gates Sr Prize in recognition of the way they exemplify the Gates Cambridge values. Rumbidzai Dube and Bailey Weatherbee have been selected for the prize which was established by the Gates Cambridge Trustees in June 2012 in recognition of the late Bill Gates Sr.’s role in establishing […]
Improving access to global healthcare
Christopher Slaughter grew up surrounded by academia as his mother completed her PhD. He saw how dedicated she was to her studies and serving her community and he plans to follow in her footsteps as a global ambassador for access to affordable healthcare. Christopher [2023] will begin his PhD in Engineering in the autumn and […]
Scholar wins awards for social impact
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has won a Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Social Impact Award for her work on climate change action. Madeleine Hahne [2020], who is doing a PhD in Geography onhow conservative religionists view climate change, co-founded Visions of Soon last year with photographer Zoe Salt after they decided to do something to support climate activism but […]
Gates Cambridge Annual Report 2022 published
The Gates Cambridge Trust’s Annual Report 2022 has just been published. The report includes a summary of the Trust’s work during the year and the impact of our scholars and alumni in Cambridge and across the world as well as the Trust’s financial report. You can also read community news about our scholars and alumni, […]
