Professor Gerlai received his Ph.D. from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences with the highest distinction in 1989. He held academic positions in Europe and North America (Eötvös Univ Budapest, Mt Sinai Hosp Res Inst Toronto, IUPUI, Univ Hawaii), and leadership positions in the US biotech and biopharma research industry working as a senior research scientist and Vice President (Genentech Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Saegis Pharma) before joining UTM in 2004, where he is currently Distinguished Professor at the Department of Psychology.

Gerlai has published over 300 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals with a cumulative citation number over 20,000 and an H index of 72. He edited 4 books, and is member of editorial boards and section or associate editor of 11 peer reviewed scientific journals. He has been grant-referee for 15 funding agencies of 9 countries across the Globe. He held leadership positions at and is founding member of IBANGS, and he is fellow and past president of IBNS. He received the UTM Dean’s Excellence Award 12 times, was awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award from IBANGS, the Outstanding Achievement Award from IBNS, the John Wiley Distinguished Speaker Award from ISDP, and the Excellence in Research Award from UTM. Gerlai’s research combines psychology, genetics and neuroscience to study mechanisms of complex behavioural functions and brain disorders with a model organism, the zebrafish.

He has been serving UTM and the University in numerous ways, including being the chair of LACC, Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology, and chair of the Campus Affairs Committee.