Gerlai obtained his PhD in 1987 from the Eötvös Loránd University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.

[1] The Web of Science lists over 350 peer-reviewed publications for Gerlai, which have been cited over 18500 times, resulting in an h-index of 70.

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.

[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.

[citation needed] In 2024, he received the IQ Consortium/AAALAC International Global 3Rs Award for his significant and innovative contributions to ethical and humane use of animals in research (https://www.aaalac.org/awards/global-3rs-winners/).