Robert T. Gerlai is a Canadian behaviour geneticist and behavioural neuroscientist.
Robert T. Gerlai | |
|---|---|
 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 |
Early life and education
editGerlai obtained his PhD in 1987 from the Eötvös Loránd University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.[citation needed]
Career
editGerlai 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 18000 times, resulting in an h-index of 69.[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]
Honours
editGerlai is an elected Fellow of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, of which he also has been president.[4] He is editor-in-chief of Behavioral and Brain Functions.[5] He is a member of the editorial boards of Biology,[6] Genes, Brain and Behavior,[7] Neurotoxicology and Teratology,[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]
References
edit- ^ a b "Gerlai Laboratory @ The University of Toronto, Mississauga". Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ Science Citation Index Expanded (Science ed.). Clarivate. 2023-12-01 – via Web of Science.
- ^ Wilkes, Jim (6 February 2011). "Drunk fish may hold secrets to alcoholism in humans". Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ "Past Presidents". International Behavioral Neuroscience Society. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ "Behavioral and Brain Functions". BioMed Central. Springer-Nature. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Editorial Board". Biology. MDPI. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
- ^ "Journal Information". Genes, Brain and Behavior.
- ^ "Editorial Board". Neurotoxicology and Teratology. Elsevier. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ "Editorial board". Learning & Behavior. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ "Section Editors". BMC Neuroscience. BioMed Central. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ "IBANGS Awards". International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ "Desmond Morton Research Excellence Award - Research". University of Toronto Mississauga. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Awards". www.ibnsconnect.org. International Behavioral Neuroscience Society.
- ^ "Distinguished Professors". Division of the Vice-President & Provost. University of Toronto Mississauga.
- ^ "U of T Distinguished Professor Awards | Office of the Vice-Principal Academic and Dean". University of Toronto. Retrieved 2024-01-11.