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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
Alumni event at British Embassy in DC
In early February 2010 the British Ambassador to the USA, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, generously hosted a cocktail reception at the British Embassy in honour of ten years of the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. The event was attended over 100 guests including a number of Gates and other Cambridge alumni, as well as representatives from the Trust, […]
New US Gates Scholars 2010 announced
The Gates Cambridge Trust is delighted to announce that it has awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships to 29 talented American students to pursue Masters or PhD degrees at the University of Cambridge from October 2010. Full details are available on the New Scholars 2010 page.
Gates Provost-elect profiled in Times Higher Education Supplement
Professor Robert Lethbridge, who will succeed Dr Gordon Johnson as Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust from 1 October 2010, has been profiled in the Times Higher Education Supplement. Professor Lethbridge, currently Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, is confident that the Gates programme will produce future world leaders and plans to raise the overseas profile […]
Gates Scholar finds chimpanzees use tools to cut up their food
Kathelijne Koops (2006) and fellow researchers at Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies have discovered evidence that some wild chimpanzees in Guinea’s Nimba Mountains use tools to cut their food into smaller, more chewable bits. The research, which has been published in the journal Primates, has been picked up the BBC and the New […]
Gates alumni event in Santa Monica USA
On Saturday, November 7, 2009, Gates Scholars Alumni and guests gathered in Santa Monica, California for a reunion luncheon at the gorgeous restaurant, Shutters-on-the-Beach. With views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Boardwalk in the background, Gates Scholars happily chatted their way through an afternoon of delicious food and interesting presentations. The Deputy […]
New Provost appointed for Gates Cambridge Trust
Professor Robert Lethbridge, Master of Fitzwilliam College, is to succeed Dr Gordon Johnson as Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust, the Trustees have announced. Professor Lethbridge, who has been Master of Fitzwilliam since 3 October 2005, will take up the post on 1 October 2010 during the Trust’s 10th anniversary year. He has had a […]
Applicants from the USA shortlisted for interview
The Gates Cambridge Trust has decided upon an interview shortlist for applicants from the USA. The shortlisted candidates have been invited to interview in Annapolis, MD in early February 2010 and were sent an email on 20 December 2009 with full information about the interviews. All applicants who were not shortlisted for interview were sent […]
Gates Alumnus writing for the Washington Post
Gates alumnus Arjun Parasher (2006) has become a contributor for the Washington Post’s Health Care Rx section. Arjun is currently a third year medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. While a Gates Scholar at Cambridge he undertook the MPhil in International Relations. Read Arjun’s articles on Obama and Pakistan, US […]
Gates Scholar wins prestigious mechanical engineering medal
Congratulations to Joan Ko (2006) who, in conjunction with Dr Dick Fenner (Centre for Sustainable Development), won the James Watt medal for 2009 by the Papers Panel of the Institution of Civil Engineers. This is for their paper entitled “Adoption of energy efficiency innovations in new UK housing” which was recently published in the Institution […]
Coffeehouse on Breaking into Politics
The past few years have seen an electrifying transition in the relationship between youth and politics. With the maturation of social media and communication tools, a younger generation of citizens are now able to engage in political elections, campaigning, advocacy and the political process in unprecedented numbers. This wave of youth participation has brought with […]
