In  USA he attended the Erasmus Hall High School for his education. He was also taught Judaic studies when he came to the USA and joined his grandfather. He was inclined towards history when he was a kid. He was fascinated by the events that have been unfolded in the past and wanted to do higher studies in history. He also started to do undergraduate at Harvard University but later started to gain interest in memory and learning. He started to study neurology in detail and also paid attention to psychology.

After Harvard, he joined the New York Medical School in 1952 to study neurology. He studied the marine invertebrates and isolation of neurons. In 1957 he joined the Laboratory of Neurophysiology to study a patient who had a defect by which he could be from memories and used to forget everything easily. The success in his research granted him a place at the New York University Medical School where he now worked as a professor.

In 1966 he took his work even further with the help of his friend James Schwartz and now became a very well-known scientist of neuroscience. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and medicine. Apart from that, he has also earned many other awards such as Wolf Prize in Medicine, Harvey Pize in 1993, foreign member of Royal Society in 2013 and much more.

He has written many books as well which have sold in large numbers. Most of the books are followed in universities around the world. After he got the Nobel Prize he was called upon by the Austrian government for his advice about the current situation n Vienna. He advised the government to not let bright students go out of the country and wanted the intellectual community to be called upon to work in Austria.

He is a married man. Eric got married to Denise Bystryn in 1959 when he met her at a party and fell in love. The two dated for a while and later decided to get married. He has two children with his wife who has gone on to live their own life and pursue their own dreams. Eric currently lives in New York with his wife. He also owns a lab there in which he works and teaches students as well.

After winning all the awards and being declared as one of the most important scientists in his field he is still humble. He has been very good in his education since childhood. His net worth is estimated to be around $100 million which he has earned throughout his life.