Gayle Marks earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communications with a minor in Neuroscience from Indiana University, M.A. in Mass Communications from the University of Iowa, and B.A. in English Literature from Denison University.  She also obtained a Graduate Certificate in Health Communication from the University of Kentucky with coursework in engineering psychology and informatics. 

Gayle has over 20 years of combined university teaching and research experience.  She has contributed to several National Institutes of Health funded studies and was a post-doctoral research assistant for a CDC Center of Excellence at the University of Connecticut examining cognitive processes and behavioral outcomes related to media messages. Gayle was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Hawaii—Manoa and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Tampa, teaching courses in communications and public relations.  Later she went on to work in the marketing research industry leading strategic planning and neuromarketing research, applying psychophysiological and eye-tracking tools for Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries (e.g., media technology, computer and biotechnology, auto manufacturing, and healthcare). Gayle has published in the areas of transportation, media psychology, health communication, and sports communication.

At the Kentucky Transportation Center, Gayle conducts research in the Policy, Finance, & Economics program.  She has expertise in organizational and policy performance measures; specifically, regulatory implications on infrastructure and best practices in organizational communication. Her most recent projects focus on aviation economics. In partnership with Kentucky’s Department of Aviation, Gayle heads KTC’s research on the economic contributions of the state’s 58 public use airports.  She also contributes to KTC’s first driving simulator study investigating the social determinants of health and the roadway environment on behavioral crashes.