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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
Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week gets under way
Rwandan students are taking part in the first Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week next week. The Week, which runs from 25 to 30 July, was set up by a Cambridge team from the University of Cambridge Beyond Profit group, including Gates scholar Julia Fan Li [2008]. Julia worked in Rwanda in 2009 on a report on financial […]
Alumnus shoots his way to two gold medals
A Gates alumnus will be picking up two gold medals this weekend after taking part in a major National Rifle Association competition. Pradipta Biswas [2006] took part in the recent 142nd Imperial Shooting Meeting in Besley, one of the biggest on the shooting calendar. One of his scores (148/150) ranks within the top 10 scores […]
Halliki Voolma
Women with insecure immigration status who are suffering domestic violence have few places to turn. There is little support open to them which means they often face a stark choice – living in destitution or being forced to stay with their abuser. This problem has received very little attention in academia despite the fact that […]
Scholar begins epic drive after being awarded a First
A Gates scholar has graduated with a first in his Law master’s course and plans to take up a post as a law clerk at Canada’s Surpreme Court of Justice. Sam Walker [2010] did his LLM in International Law with his thesis on the philosophy of international law, specifically the lawfulness of killing in war. […]
Clara Devlieger
Clara Devlieger’s life has come full circle. Born in Congo to Belgian parents, she is hoping to complete a PhD in Social Anthropology on disabled traders in the Kinshasa-Brazzaville area, the border area between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. Clara [2011] was born in Congo as her parents were working […]
Rise of arts and science festivals ‘only possible with student help’
The growth and increasing popularity of science and arts festivals around Britain is only possible with the help of an army of willing, but unpaid student volunteers, according to a report led by a Gates alumnus. Research for the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), led by Gates alumnus Dr Eric Jensen, reveals that […]
Scholar wins two prestigious awards
A Gates scholar has been awarded two prizes for his work on how bacteria infect plants and animals. Nabil Wilf [2007], who just completed his PhD in Biochemistry, was awarded the Roche Researcher of the Year award in May. Just a month later he won an award for best presented paper at the 4th Congress […]
Gates scholar writes EC factsheet on stem cells
A Gates scholar has written a factsheet for the European Commission designed to help public understanding of research into embryonic stem cells. Kathryn Blair [2007] is studying for a PhD in Biochemistry. The lab where she is doing her PhD is a member of the EC Framework 7-funded research project that focuses on stem cell […]
Douglas Guilfoyle
Somali piracy has only recently come to international attention and Douglas Guilfoyle is one of the few international law experts in the field. His book on the subject is about to be released in paperback and he is also advising a UN-sponsored body on how to tackle the legal issues around piracy. Douglas, who did […]
New research on what works in technology cluster groups
For researchers in technology clusters, a shared language matters more than being physically close to peers, according to a new study by a Gates alumnus. Franz Huber’s study, published in the Regional Studies journal, focuses on research and development workers in the Cambridge information technology cluster. It found that about two thirds of the most […]
