News

Benjamin Cocanougher

Benjamin Cocanougher

  • Alumni
  • 2016
  • United States
  • 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.

Latest News

Gates 10th anniversary podcast: Lord Broers’ keynote speech

Lord Broers, former Vice-Chancellor of the University, former Chair of the Trustees of the Gates Cambridge Trust and one of the key players in settig up the Gates Cambridge Scholarships, gives a keynote speech about the history of the scholarships.

Gates Scholars moving on

Each year we are delighted by the variety of destinations chosen by our Scholars when they depart Cambridge. Some continue with their studies, extending their research as post-docs, and sharing their knowledge and experience as lecturers and tutors. Others take their expertise into the fields of government advice, not-for-profit organisations, manufacturing and commerce. Arun Jacob […]

Trawl fishing and conservation

A paper by Aaron Lobo and colleagues is published in this month’s issue of Conservation Letters. It describes how trawl fishing is surviving through the sale of previously unusable catch. Bycatch (low-value fish that are caught in large, indiscriminate nets) used to be discarded, but is now sold for local consumption, and to fill the […]

Gates Scholar elected Fellow of Royal Society for Public Health

This prestigious award was made after a review of Rajiv‘s career track and achievements. The Royal Society of Public Health is the longest-established public health organisation in the UK, and elected members are academics, health professionals and public health practitioners who share an interest in promoting health worldwide. They come together to provide cross-cutting, multidisciplinary […]

Gates Cambridge Scholarships 10th anniversary podcast: education and technology in the 21st century

A panel discussion on how education and technology are and could be used in the 21st century