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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 roots of crisis in Northern Lebanon
Gates Cambridge Scholar Raphael Lefevre was one of the main speakers at a major conference in Beirut on the roots of extremism in Northern Lebanon this week organised by the Carnegie Middle East Center and Human Rights Watch. The basis for the conference, which was attended by Lebanese government ministers, foreign Ambassadors and local and […]
New honour for Gates Cambridge Provost
The Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust, Professor Barry Everitt, is among 106 outstanding researchers to be elected as a member of one of the most prestigious life sciences organisations in Europe this week. It is the first time that neuroscientists in general and behavioural neuroscientists in particular, have been elected to EMBO. The organisation […]
The links between the immune system and genetics
A new study led by a Gates Cambridge Alumnus highlights how genetic variations among healthy, young individuals can influence immune cell function and risk factors for common diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis later in life. The study is published in the current issue of Science. “Over the last decade, geneticists have […]
From faith and biology to wildlife conservation and documentary making
Biology and faith, wildlife conservation and ethical issues around documenting military violence and poverty will be the subjects of this week’s Scholars Stories session. Three Scholars – David Kurz, Katrin Pfeil and Farhan Samanani will speak about personal experiences and ideas that have influenced their work at the event on Tuesday night. David Kurz [2013], […]
Peace through the arts
What is the role of the arts in reducing ethnic tensions and how can marginal voices be heard? Afrodita Nikolova‘s research investigates how arts interventions can build peace. She has a personal interest since she comes from Macedonia where tensions between Albanians and security forces in 2001 spilled over into violence which she says has […]
Africa together
Inspirational African leaders from across the spectrum of arts, business and science will speak at the inaugural event of the African Society of Cambridge University in May. The Africa Together event has been organised by the newly formed African Society of Cambridge University [ASCU] in partnership with the Cambridge Union Society and other African student […]
Patent granted for toxoplasmosis research
A Gates Cambridge Scholar and his team have been granted a patent by the US authorities to develop a treatement for toxoplasmosis. Bo Shiun Lai [2013] and colleagues submitted a patent application around a year and a half ago when Bo Shiun was still doing his undergraduate degree at the Univesity of Chicago and have […]
Changing attitudes to science
Jerelle Joseph believes passionately in the power of teaching and of science. Her ambition is to raise the level of science in the Caribbean and show science students there that their work can have international impact. “A lot of people in the Caribbean think that if you study science you will just end up as […]
New research on parasitic worm
New research which moves scientists one step closer to finding a vaccine for a parasitic worm that infects more than 200 million people worldwide has been published. The research, led by Gates Cambridge Alumnus Sukrit Silas, is in the International Journal for Parasitology. Infection by the parasitic worm Schistosoma mansoni occurs in 54 countries around […]
From hopping insects to number sculptures
Hopping insects, fluidised beds, number sculptures and altering animal behaviour will be the subject of this week’s internal symposium. Four Gates Cambridge Scholars will talk about their research at the symposium in the Gates Cambridge Scholars Common Room on Thursday. Christopher Boyce [2011] is doing a PhD in Chemical Engineering. He will speak about “The […]
