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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
Schumann’s ‘musician’s cramp’ analysed by Gates alumna
Robert Schumann’s ‘musician’s cramp’ was a neural rather than a muscular problem, according to Gates alumna Dr Jessica Grahn. She spoke about the German composer, who is celebrating his 200thanniversary this year, at a meeting called The Musical Brain: Arts, Science and the Mind, which took place last weekend in London and was featured in […]
An early interest in Chinese pays dividends for new Gates scholar
Gates scholar Charlie Melvoin [2010] developed a love of Chinese at an early age and his fascination has led him aroumd the globe and finally to Cambridge. He has, for example, acted as a guide to Rupert Murdoch at the Beijing Olympics, worked for the UN in Uganda and visited 22 countries in his gap […]
Charlie Melvoin
When he was a young boy, Charlie Melvoin developed what he calls “an inexplicable attraction” to Chinese characters. This attraction grew over the years and has already resulted in him acting as a guide to Rupert Murdoch at the Beijing Olympics and a Gates scholarship for a masters in Development Studies at the University of […]
Gates scholars to attend House of Lords Africa event
Ten Gates scholars will be attending a House of Lords meeting this week organised by Harambe Endeavor, a network of African students and professionals set up to promote African development. Ten Gates scholars – Andrew Gruen, Elizabeth Ridgeway, Steffen Loesch, Julia Li, Simon Breakspear, Surgeon Xolo, Raliza Stoyanova, Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, Alexander Fabry and Ruth […]
New scholar arrives in Cambridge after global odyssey
New Gates scholar Sam Sudar has just arrived at Cambridge, having spent the last eight months on a travel bursary visiting 12 countries. During his trip he had dinner with Zen Buddhist monks in China and went scuba diving in the Indian Ocean. His travels were funded by the Bonderman Travel Fellowship, a $20,000 grant […]
New scholars to be greeted at welcome dinner
New Gates scholars arriving at Cambridge will be welcomed at an official dinner given by the new Provost this evening. The 78 new scholars, from 22 countries ranging from El Salvador to China, will be greeted by both the departing Provost Dr Gordon Johnson and the incoming one, Professor Robert Lethbridge, at the first ever new scholars dinner. Professor […]
Gates scholar organises education leadership summit
Gates scholar Simon Breakspear [2009] has been hosting a summit on educational leadership in Australia this week. The Global Emerging Educational Leaders Summit 2010 took place in Sydney earlier this week. One hundred young educators from across the Commonwealth met for two days to discuss leadership development and educational innovation and to build a network […]
Gates scholar wins microbiology prize
Gates scholar Nabil Wilf has been awarded the Sir Howard Dalton Prize for the Young Microbiologist of the Year. The prize is awarded annually by the Society for General Microbiology (SGM) in open competition. The award is given to the best graduate student presentation(s) in a two-stage competition usually involving a poster and an oral […]
New Gates scholar to research working mothers
New Gates scholar Yen-Chun Chen is to research how the increase in women who work is affecting their role as mothers. Yen-Chun is studying for a PhD in sociology and has long been interested in family issues. For her masters, she has studied the impact of family support on married migrants in Taiwan. She became […]
Gates scholar leads research on antidepressants
The most common type of antidepressants, serotonin enhancers, alters peoples’ moral judgement and leads to a reduction in aggressive behaviour, says a study led by Gates scholar Molly Crockett. The new research is published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Crockett and her team from the University of Cambridge’s Behavioural and Clinical […]
