The Gereau laboratory is interested in determining the cellular, circuit and molecular changes that underlie the development of chronic pain conditions. His lab utilizes a combination of behavioral studies, electrophysiology, optogenetics, in vivo imaging, molecular and genetic approaches to understand the signaling pathways, cells and circuits involved in nervous system plasticity that underlies pain sensitization. The lab mission is to identify novel approaches to reverse this maladaptive plasticity to provide new therapeutic strategies to reduce pain and its impact on patient quality of life. Recent work in the Gereau lab includes the development of novel technologies enabling the measurement and manipulation of neuronal activity in freely moving animals. In a collaborative effort with the materials science lab of Dr. John Rogers, at Northwestern University, Gereau has helped to develop battery-free, wireless implants for optogenetic manipulation, microfluidic delivery of drugs, and measurement of a variety of physiological parameters. The most recent iterations enable the measurement of end-organ function, algorithms to identify pathological dysfunction and deliver corrective neuromodulation in a closed-loop system.