Gary W. Perry
Biosketch
GARY WILLIAM PERRY
Professor of Neuroscience
Dr. Gary W. Perry joined Florida Atlantic University in 1989 as a faculty member in the Center for Complex Systems and the Department of Psychology, where he is currently a tenured full Professor of Neuroscience. After 25 years as a faculty-administrator, Dr. Perry returned to full-time faculty in 2019 and resumed teaching courses in neuroscience and conducting research with students primarily through Directed Independent Research (DIR) courses. Dr. Perry also served as the Director of the Center for Complex Systems at FAU (2019-2025) and continues currently as Director of the Ph.D. program in Complex Systems and Brain Sciences. He has also held joint faculty appointments in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and is a member of the Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at FAU.
Dr. Perry served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at FAU (2014-2018). In this role he served as FAU’s Chief Academic Officer and led the Division of Academic Affairs, overseeing the development and delivery of all academic programs at FAU while directing the division’s budget (~$350 million) and personnel. The Division of Academic Affairs comprises FAU’s 10 colleges that deliver more than 180-degree programs at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, Specialist and Doctoral levels. Related areas, such as the University Registrar, the University Libraries, the Lifelong Learning Society, Enrollment Management, Admissions, Financial Aid, Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis, and the Office of Information Technology were also under the division’s umbrella and reported to the provost. As provost, Dr. Perry also provided the academic lead for FAU’s 2015-2025 “A Strategic Plan for the Race to Excellence.” As Provost, Dr. Perry was instrumental in implementing strategies to meet the SUS Board of Governors 10 Performance Metrics which resulted in FAU achieving #1 status in the SUS in 2015, garnering an additional $20 million annually in performance funding for FAU. In 2017, FAU achieved Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) status. In 2018, FAU was named among top universities for Diversity and Social Mobility. Dr. Perry served as Chair of the Council of Academic Vice Presidents (CAVP) of the Florida State University System (2016-2018).
Prior to being appointed as University Provost, Dr. Perry served as Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer (2013-2014). During this time, he was responsible for reorganizing the Office of the Provost, leading the Division of Academic Affairs and responsible for developing plans to address student success at FAU. In addition, Dr. Perry was charged with developing plans to address the newly implemented Florida Board of Governors (BOG) Performance Metrics.
Prior to his appointment as Interim Provost, Dr. Perry served for seven years as Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at FAU (2006-2013). As dean, his role was as the chief executive and administrative officer of the College who provided leadership and vision for the College, administered the affairs of the College, and served as liaison between the College faculty and the Division of Academic Affairs. During his time as dean, enrollment in science programs increased significantly and the college grew to become FAU’s second largest college. Additionally, with approval of the Ph.D. in Geosciences in 2009 the College became a fully doctoral college offering the most (7) Ph.D. programs at FAU and graduating the highest number of Ph.D. students each year at the university. While dean, research productivity in the College increased, peaking in 2011 with ~$15 million in research grants awarded with about $10 million in annual research expenditures.
Dr. Perry served as the Dean of Graduate Studies (Interim) at FAU (2005-2006). In this role, he provided leadership in establishing the appropriate organizational structure and operational procedures necessary to enhance graduate education at FAU. This included graduate admissions, enrollment and progression, financial support, and graduate programs and policies, while formalizing a University Graduate Council and a Graduate Faculty at FAU. Dr. Perry also served as Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Science (1999-2005), In this role, Dr. Perry provided oversight of research programs that grew from $3.2 million to $8.5 million in external research funding during his tenure; he had oversight of the design and construction of new science facilities at a cost of over $50 million; and he was also responsible for the implementation of several new graduate programs, these included the Ph.D. programs in Chemistry and in Integrative Biology, and the M.S. programs in Statistics and Applied Mathematics and in Biomedical Science. He also worked to implement accelerated Masters' programs, such as the B.S./M.S. program in Biotechnology offered through FAU’s Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. This latter program constituted part of a workforce development initiative begun with Workforce Alliance Inc. of Florida and the Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast, Florida to retrain IT workers in biotechnology/biosciences and was funded through a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Dr. Perry served as Acting Director of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences (1997- 1998) and Acting Associate Dean and Chair of the Biomedical Sciences Program (1998-1999). In this latter role, he was responsible for the initial development of the Program for Quality Medical Education - a partnership between FAU and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. This program began as a 2+2 program to train additional physicians (M.D.s) in Southeast Florida, and in 2010 the program became the independent Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
Dr. Perry has made significant contributions to help establish Southeast Florida as the new Life Science hub in the U.S., including work on cooperative agreements between FAU and The Scripps Research Institute - Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, both located in Jupiter; and the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Vaccine and Gene therapy Institute, both were located in Port St. Lucie. He was a founding member of the South Florida Bioscience Consortium, now incorporated as part of BioFlorida. In 2000, with his long-term friend and collaborator Dr. Ramaswamy Narayanan, he “spun out” FAU’s first biotech start-up, Forseti Biosciences, Inc, based on FAU-patented technology that identified a “pair of genes” with diagnostic and therapeutic utility in cancer.
Dr. Perry has taught extensively in the graduate and undergraduate programs at FAU. His principal area of teaching is neuroscience, and he has been involved in the development of several interdisciplinary graduate programs, initially the Ph.D. program in Complex Systems and Brain Sciences and the joint graduate Ph.D. program in Integrative Biology and Neuroscience between FAU and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. He was the 2025 Schmidt College of Science “Distinguished Teacher of the Year” nominee and received the 2025 “Degree of Difference Award” from the FAU National Alumni Association.
In research, Dr. Perry has published numerous articles in his area of research interest that include the understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling growth and development of nervous systems. These interests also led him to explore the role of specific neural genes in cancer and the physiology of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). To support his research program, Dr. Perry has received significant research funding, principally federal funding from the NIH. He has served on national review panels of the NIH-National Eye Institute and the NSF and has reviewed research articles for numerous scientific journals in his field. More recently, Dr. Perry has developed an interest in Educational Neuroscience and continues literature-based research with undergraduates through his research courses in Neuroscience and Behavior.
Dr. Perry received his primary and secondary education at Purford Green School and Brays Grove School in Harlow, Essex, England, and at the latter served as Head Boy (1969-1970). He went on to read Biochemistry at the University of London graduating with a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in 1973, and subsequently completed postgraduate research training in neuroscience at the University of Manchester in the U.K. (M.Sc., 1975 & Ph.D., 1977). Dr. Perry held research faculty appointments at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY (1981-1984) and at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL (1984-1989) before joining the faculty at FAU in 1989.
Education
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B.Sc. |
University of London, U.K., 1973 |
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M.Sc. |
University of Manchester, U.K., 1975 |
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Ph.D. |
University of Manchester, U.K., 1977 |
Research Interests
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating cell growth during neural development, regeneration, plasticity, and neo-plasticity; and SIDS.
- Educational Neuroscience: Brain-Based Learning.
Representative Publications (full list)
- H.F. Krous, E.A. Haas, A.E. Chadwick, H. Masoumi, C. Stanley, and G.W. Perry. Hemoglobin F in sudden infant death syndrome: a San Diego SIDS/SUDC Research Project report. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. 14(8): 456-460 (2007).
- M. Aleman, M.P. DeYoung, M. Tress, P. Keating. G.W. Perry, and R. Narayanan. Inhibition of Single-Minded 2 gene expression mediates tumor-selective apoptosis and differentiation in human colon cancer cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA), 102: 12765-12770 (2005).
- L.B. Wodarczyk, V.K.L. Merrill and G.W. Perry, 1998, Differential regulation of fast axonally transported proteins during the early response of rat retinal ganglion cells to axotomy. Journal of Neurochemistry 68, 1114-1123.
- G.W. Perry, D.W. Burmeister and B. Grafstein, 1987 Labeling of proteins in fast axonal transport during regeneration of goldfish optic nerve. Journal of Neuroscience 7, 792-806.
- G.W. Perry and D.L. Wilson, 1981 Protein synthesis and axonal transport during nerve regeneration. Journal of Neurochemistry 37, 1203-1218.
- J.R. Cronly-Dillon and G.W. Perry, 1979. Effect of visual experience on tubulin synthesis during a critical period of visual cortex development in the hooded rat. Journal of Physiology 293, 469-484.
- J.R. Cronly-Dillon and G.W. Perry, 1976 Tubulin synthesis in developing rat visual cortex. Nature 261, 581-583.
Current Teaching
Biological Bases of Behavior, PSB 3002
Biological Bases of Behavior 2, PSB 4006
Directed Independent Research: Neuroscience and Behavior, PSB 4915
Directed Independent Research: Neuroscience and Behavior, PSB 4917
Contact Information
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Florida Atlantic University
Behavioral Sciences Building (BS-12), Room 309
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
email: perryg@fau.edu
CV (pdf)