News

Benjamin Cocanougher

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

Latest News

Gates alumnus addresses FDA hearing on neglected diseases

A Gates alumnus has given testimony to a Food and Drug Administration hearing in the US on how to develop drugs for the world’s poorest people. Dr Andrew Robertson, co-founder […]

Scholars hold first internal symposium of the term

The Gates Scholars Council is running its first Internal Symposium of Michaelmas term this week. The symposium includes four presentations by scholars on their research. Mathew Madhavacheril‘s talk “Mapping the […]

New scholar plans surgery exchange programme

A newly arrived Gates scholar plans to set up an international surgery exchange programme. Dr Trevor Ellison [2010] is doing an MBA in management at Cambridge this year which he […]

Trevor Ellison

Dr Trevor Ellison grew up with a realisation of the importance of medicine from an early age and this has spurred to set up an international surgery exchange programme to […]

Gates scholar wins Australian Geographic award

A Gates scholar has been awarded a prestigious Australian Geographic award for a canoe expedition around Indonesia’s Togean Islands which highlighted the impact of overfishing on traditional communities. Alex Vail, […]

Schumann’s ‘musician’s cramp’ analysed by Gates alumna

Robert Schumann’s ‘musician’s cramp’ was a neural rather than a muscular problem, according to Gates alumna Dr Jessica Grahn. She spoke about the German composer, who is celebrating his 200thanniversary […]

An early interest in Chinese pays dividends for new Gates scholar

Gates scholar Charlie Melvoin [2010] developed a love of Chinese at an early age and his fascination has led him aroumd the globe and finally to Cambridge. He has, for […]

Charlie Melvoin

When he was a young boy, Charlie Melvoin developed what he calls “an inexplicable attraction” to Chinese characters. This attraction grew over the years and has already resulted in him […]

Gates scholars to attend House of Lords Africa event

Ten Gates scholars will be attending a House of Lords meeting this week organised by Harambe Endeavor, a network of African students and professionals set up to promote African development. […]

New scholar arrives in Cambridge after global odyssey

New Gates scholar Sam Sudar has just arrived at Cambridge, having spent the last eight months on a travel bursary visiting 12 countries. During his trip he had dinner with […]