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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
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 […]
Bangladesh CVD study receives international attention
A study of cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh co-led by a Gates scholar is attracting international attention as statistics show the number of people suffering from the disease has increased 3,500% in the last two decades. The BRAVE [Bangladesh Risk of Acute Vascular Events] study, co-led by Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, began seven months ago in pilot […]
Linda Gichuyia
People in developing countries are copying the glass buildings in the West to the detriment of their environment, claims a Gates scholar-elect. Linda Gichuyia [2011] says that since the majority of new buildings in sub-Saharan Africa are replicas of buildings designed in the cooler west and do not take into consideration the differences in climate. […]
Alumna publishes beauty pageant article
Gates alumna Hilary Levey has written an article in the Boston Globe giving vital statistics on the past 25 years of the Miss Massachussetts Pageant. She says the competition, which is held on 9 July this year, has attracted entrants from across the local universities and colleges. Harvard has had the most winners, although it […]
