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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
The Summer Before Everything
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has co-written a unique and thought-provoking verbatim play about the war in Ukraine which will debut in Cambridge in July. The Summer Before Everything is co-written by Bohdan Tokarskyi [2015], a Gates Scholar doing a PhD in Slavonic Studies. It is based on interviews with over 100 people across Ukraine. The […]
Bringing African voices to the table
Alice Musabende wants to give the people affected by war and genocide a voice in peacebuilding efforts. Too often, she says, their voices are not heard, their stories are not told and they are not able to contribute to discussions about how peacebuilding might happen. Her PhD in Politics and International Studies, which she will […]
Study reports black hole tearing apart nearby star
A normally dormant supermassive black hole (SMBH) tearing apart a nearby star is reported in research led by Gates Cambridge alumna Erin Kara. The study is reported online in Nature this week. It analyses X-ray data collected as the star experienced this ‘tidal disruption event’ and accreted onto the SMBH, and opens up a new way […]
Social enterprise win for JustMilk Ltd
A Gates Cambridge Scholar and her team have won a major social enterprise competition for their start-up company which aims to help children access life-saving medicines and nutrients. Cassi Henderson [2015 – pictured left], who is doing a PhD in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and colleagues Theresa Maier and Graham Mills from JustMilk Ltd won […]
Broadcast honour for scientist
A Gates Cambridge alumnus with a passion for public engagement has been named as one of the top five scientists under 40 by Australia’s national broadcaster. Niraj [Nij] Lal [2008] has been listed in the top five by ABC Radio National as part of the broadcaster’s mission to “discover Australia’s next generation of science communicators […]
Smarter than the average bird?
Have humans underestimated the intelligence of birds? One person who believes they have is Corina Logan and in the last few years she has focused her attention on one species which has fascinated her for a long time. Before she started her PhD in Experimental Psychology in 2008, Corina spent time in Costa Rica where she […]
Bridging the gap between academia and industry
Cambridge has featured strongly in Karen Duffy’s early scientific career. Not only was she born in Cambridge, Massachussetts, but she currently works for a biotechnology company there and is about to begin a PhD at Cambridge, UK in the autumn. Karen will do a PhD in Molecular Biology under the supervision of Philipp Holliger. Her research […]
Birds turn copycats – but only in certain seasons
Birds will try new foods by copying their peers, but will only do so in dangerous places at certain times of year, according to a new study which will be useful as humans continue to encroach on their natural habitats. The study, Contagious risk taking: social information and context influence wild jackdaws’ responses to novelty and risk, […]
A dual identity
Larry Han has always felt he had a dual identity – as Larry the top golfer and Larry the top student. He was a world-ranking junior golfing champion until an injury hampered his ability to play. Since then he has shown equal dedication to his research, working most recently in Malawi on the most promising […]
Reporting on America’s eroding edges
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has launched a new website in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to catalogue her research into coastal communities, culture and climate change in America. The website shares Victoria Herrmann’s research from America’s Eroding Edges, a project she is completing with funding from the National Geographic’s Science and Exploration Committee as […]
