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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
Evolving genes
Ruoyun Hui [2015] believes that an understanding of the past is essential to interpret what we observe today. As student of Biology, this means she has been drawn to evolutionary history. Her PhD in Evolutionary Genetics focuses on using whole-genome sequence data to reconstruct demographic histories of diverse populations, something which may be relevant to […]
ASEAN: a useful model for Arctic cooperation
Governing regimes and indigenous groups in the Arctic should work to rise above regional divisions and build a vibrant identity of inclusiveness and cooperation, a Gates Cambridge Alumnus argues in a new book. Reid Lidow [2014], who did an MPhil in Development Studies and specialises in development economics, has written a chapter in the Arctic Yearbook […]
Fewer landslides than expected after Nepal earthquake
The 2015 Nepal earthquake which led to the death of around 9,000 people and caused widespread damage initiated fewer landslides than similar seismic events and could have been much worse, according to research released by geologists and glacier experts. They hope the study, which includes extensive supplementary material detailing specific hazards, will contribute to a greater understanding […]
Prostate cancer treatment linked to Alzheimer’s
Men taking androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the years that followed than those who didn’t undergo the therapy, an analysis of medical records from two large hospital systems by Penn Medicine and Stanford University researchers, led by a Gates Cambridge Alumnus, […]
Tackling India’s sanitation crisis
The magnitude of India’s sanitation crisis may be summed in one sentence: two-thirds of urban residents do not have a toilet or access to the sewer grid, and over 600 million people in rural and urban areas defecate in the open. Where the grid does not serve toilets, faeces is periodically collected from unsustainable septic […]
Scholars tell their stories
The history of Detroit, gender issues in poetry slams, trans identities and life in Colombia will form the basis of a Scholar Stories session next week. The Scholar Stories event takes place in the Gates Cambridge Scholars Common Room on 1st December from 7-9:30pm. The four speakers are: Aya Waller-Bey [2015] is doing an MPhil […]
In search of the Holy Grail
Genetically modified organisms have been hailed as an important step to countering the common agricultural problems that lead to crop failure. But there have long been concerns about their safety due to possible cross contamination. Vitor Pinheiro [2001] has been researching this issue for years and now leads his own research group at University College […]
Carbon conflicts and forest landscapes
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has contributed to a new book that examines the management of forests and carbon in Africa. Albert Arhin has contributed a chapter to the book, Carbon Conflicts and Forest Landscapes in Africa, edited by Melissa Leach and Ian Scoones. The book examines what happens on the ground when carbon forestry projects […]
Narratives of climate change
A Gates Cambridge Scholar is about to embark on a solo research project on narratives of climate change in the Arctic and Pacific for which she has been awarded funding from the National Geographic Society. Victoria Herrmann’s America’s Eroding Edges: narratives of US climate vulnerability from Alaska to the Pacific islands project will use the […]
From Zambian politics to climate change
Four Gates Cambridge Scholars will present on subjects ranging from how to strengthen democracy in Zambia to making a film on climate change impacts in Canada’s Western Arctic at an internal symposium tomorrow [17th November]. The four scholars are: – Zenobia Ismail [2013], who is doing a PhD in Politics and International Studies. Her talk […]
