Robert T. Gerlai | |
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![]() Robert Gerlai, August 2009 | |
Born | 1960 (age 63–64) |
Citizenship | Canadian |
Alma mater | Eötvös Loránd University |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Behavior genetics |
Institutions | University of Toronto |
Doctoral advisor | Vilmos Csanyi |
Website | https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/gerlai-lab/home |
Robert T. Gerlai is a Canadian behaviour geneticist and behavioural neuroscientist.
Gerlai obtained his PhD in 1987 from the Eötvös Loránd University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.[ citation needed ]
Gerlai has worked in the biotechnology (Genentech) and biopharmaceutical research industries (Eli Lilly and Company and Saegis Pharmaceuticals) as Senior Scientist and Vice President of Research, and led pre-clinical as well as clinical research teams developing drugs to treat mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's Disease. He also worked at different universities in North America and Europe. He is a Distinguished Professor of behavioral neuroscience at the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. [1]
The Web of Science lists over 340 peer-reviewed publications for Gerlai, which have been cited over 17500 times, resulting in an h-index of 68. [2] Gerlai has worked with several different animal species, including paradise fish and mice. He was among the first to use transgenic mice in the analysis of learning and memory[ citation needed ] and showed that astrocytes play important roles in synaptic plasticity. He is also known for discovering the role of Eph tyrosine kinases and their ephrin ligands in neuronal plasticity.[ citation needed ] He is considered a leader[ citation needed ] of zebrafish behavioral neuroscience research, and has been using this species, and studies the effects of alcohol on brain function and behaviour, including social behaviour, fear-anxiety, and learning and memory. [1] [3]
Gerlai is an elected Fellow of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, of which he also has been president. [4] He is a member of the editorial boards of Biology, [5] Genes, Brain and Behavior , [6] Neurotoxicology and Teratology , [7] Behavioral and Brain Functions , [8] Learning and Behavior , [9] Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences , Zebrafish, and F1000. He is section editor for behavioral neuroscience of BMC Neuroscience . [10] In 2013, Gerlai received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society. [11] In 2015, he received the Research Excellence Award from the University of Toronto. [12] In 2019 he received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society. [13] In 2019 and again in 2024, he received the 5-year John Carlin Roder Distinguished Professorship in Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Toronto Mississauga. [14] [15] In 2023, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[ citation needed ]
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