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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
Genomic study tackles causes of autoimmune diseases
A new study which uses genomics to trace the molecular pathways of autoimmune diseases has helped scientists to move one step closer to understanding the causes of asthma, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. A study, co-authored by Gates Cambridge Scholar Eddie Cano-Gamez, has shown that thousands of differences in DNA between individuals, associated with immune diseases, are linked with the switching-on […]
Towards more accurate diagnosis of a rare muscle disease
A Gates Cambridge Scholar is co-author on two papers relating to categorisation of a rare muscle disease, which could help clinicians make accurate diagnoses and paves the way for gene therapy trials. Ben Cocanougher [pictured] is first author of an article in the journal Neurology which seeks to classify MTM1-related myopathy, a rare X-linked muscle disease, in women. […]
Study finds cancer survivors have lower risk of Alzheimer’s
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has published a paper which takes a genetic approach to studying the inverse relationship between Alzheimers’s disease and cancer. Sahba Seddighi [2017] is lead author of the paper, Evidence of a Causal Association Between Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease: a Mendelian Randomization Analysis, published in Nature last week. There is limited evidence that cancer survivors have […]
The role of mental health in rehabilitation
Andrea Kusec’s research investigates a vital factor in the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a brain injury: mental health. One in three people suffer depression after brain injury and those who have suffered a brain injury are three times more likely to commit suicide compared to those without a brain injury. That depression, Andrea [2017] […]
First English collection for award-winning Ukrainian poet
Award-winning Ukrainian poet and Gates Cambridge Scholar Iryna Shuvalova has published her first book of poems in English. Entitled ‘Pray to the Empty Wells’, it is Iryna’s fourth collection of poetry. Her previous three collections – Ran, Os and Az- have been in Ukrainian and she has a fourth book coming out early next year. Iryna […]
A multisectoral approach to data
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has set up a consultancy business with fellow alumni which brings together data science, market research and industry expertise in the health, pharmaceutical and development sectors. Diana Pirjol [2011] set up the Human Data Science Consulting Company earlier this year. Its USP is that it combines expertise in cutting edge data sifting technologies, has […]
Gates Cambridge Scholar meets Indonesia’s president
A Gates Cambridge Scholar met with the President of Indonesia this week to discuss the role of Indonesian diaspora in building the country. Dr Sabrina Anjara [2014] had an audience with the President of Indonesia, HE Joko Widodo, at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday. The President received a group of 35 representatives of the “Inovator 4.0” […]
‘Climate change could shrink economies of rich, poor, hot and cold countries alike’
Prevailing economic research anticipates the burden of climate change falling on hot or poor nations. Some predict that cooler or wealthier economies will be unaffected or even see benefits from higher temperatures. However, a new study co-authored by Gates Cambridge scholar Dr Kamiar Mohaddes [2005] suggests that virtually all countries – whether rich or poor, hot or […]
Investigating the zoonotic disease risk of displaced communities
Dorien Braam has had a wide-ranging international career. From a young age, she was interested in veterinary medicine and animal welfare, volunteering in the sector before qualifying as an architect. However, most of her recent career has been spent in a range of development and humanitarian roles. Now, for her PhD, she has brought together […]
Joint lubricating fluid plays key role in osteoarthritic pain
A research study led by a Gates Cambridge Scholar has shown how, in osteoarthritis patients, the viscous lubricant that ordinarily allows our joints to move smoothly triggers a pain response from nerve cells similar that caused by chilli peppers. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It causes joint pain and stiffness, and in some […]
