Robert Gereau

#NIHfunding via the HEAL initiative for the PRECISION Human Pain Network has yielded a massive increase in data on human sensory neurons. One of the most amazing collaborations I've been part of. Data sharing across 4 centers, insights from experts across the network that really moved the needle.

WashU Medicine Anesthesiology shines at American Headache Society Meeting | Anesthesiology | Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis The Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine showcased its leadership in migraine research at the 2025 American Headache Society Meeting with multiple podium presentations, featured sessions, an...

anesthesiology.wustl.edu/washu-medici...

Congrats Ish! Well deserved.

Congrats Sebastian!

The end of an era as these 3 colleagues finish their tenure in the lab. Each the product of supportive programs to help them launch their journey and now off to med school, postdoc and grad school. Will miss you all but super excited for your future. Jakayla, Bobbie, Alexa - Go get em.

Outstanding

UTD scientists solve 100-year-old mystery behind diabetic nerve damage Nageotte nodules, once overlooked, may hold the key to understanding and treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

First time we’ve had the honor of the @dallasmorningnews.bsky.social writing about our scientific discoveries, funded by the #NIH www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/05...

YouTube video by National Institutes of Health (NIH) The NIH HEAL Initiative–HEAL Is Hope

youtu.be/J25NJoe1B0g

Excited to introduce Dr. Bobbie Brown, who happens to be our lab’s PhD #15. With co-mentor Bryan Copits.

Huge losses across the board - but for the US pain research and treatment community in particular this is a dark day.

Send good vibes to our colleagues at NIH folks.

Human sensory neurons exhibit cell-type-specific, pain-associated differences in intrinsic excitability and expression of SCN9A and SCN10A Despite the prevalence of chronic pain, the approval of novel, non-opioid therapeutics has been slow. A major translational challenge in analgesic development is the difference in gene expression and ...

BOOM! Human DRG patch-seq with Nav1.8 and Nav1.7 upregulation associated with a history pain in organ donors. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Great stuff from the #PRECISIONPain Center at WashU led by @robgereau.bsky.social

Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.

Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...

Estradiol protects against pain-facilitated fentanyl use via suppression of opioid-evoked dopamine activity in males Higginbotham et al. show that inflammatory pain increases opioid-evoked dopamine neuron activity to promote fentanyl use selectively in males. Ovarian hormones offer females protection, but estradiol’...

New work from the lab published at @cp-neuron.bsky.social. In this study we dissect the role of hormonal regulation in pain-induced enhanced opioid intake in males.
Work conducted by the super talented @jessinbotham

www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Compound harnesses cannabis’ pain-relieving properties without side effects | WashU Medicine Mouse study points to an effective alternative to opioids

Opioids remain a common treatment for chronic pain — but at a cost. Now, scientists at WashU Medicine and Stanford University have developed a pain-relieving compound that mimics cannabis' benefits without the mind-altering side effects or risk of addiction. medicine.washu.edu/news/compoun...

We acknowledge and greatly appreciate financial support from the National Institutes of Health. Not only for the direct funding of this work, but for funding decades of foundational work that forms the knowledge base that enabled these recent advances. Without NIH funding this wouldn't have happened

This new class of agonists shows signaling bias, substantially improved peripheral restriction compared to previously reported "peripherally-restricted" CB1 ligands. The result is a dramatic reduction in analgesic tolerance and unwanted CNS-mediated side effects.

Led by the lab of Sush Majumdar, we worked with labs of Ron Dror, Kaavya Krishna Kumar, Michael Cameron, Amynhah Pradhan and Bryan Kobilka to develop a next-generation cannabinoid CB1 agonist

A cryptic pocket in CB1 drives peripheral and functional selectivity - Nature A peripherally restricted CB1 agonist (VIP36) targeting a cryptic receptor pocket was developed, showing high efficacy in mouse pain models with minimal side effects and tolerance, potentially revolut...

Excited to present the result of a fantastic collaborative effort - funded by the National Institutes of Health, including the NIH HEAL Initiative, to develop safer analgesic drugs. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

a bit of good news - thak you @jeremymberg.bsky.social for all of the information and insights!

NIH indirects case update:

Hearing ongoing now, and I'll try to live tweet some notable exchanges.

Prior to more detailed arguments, Judge Kelley starts off with a few point questions to both sides:

(I'm paraphrasing here)

Check out the scientific journey behind the newest FDA-approved pain medication! 💊 Learn how NIH-funded research played a crucial role—both directly and indirectly—in bringing this breakthrough to life. 🧪

People Principal Investigator Staff Members Research Faculty Postdoctoral Fellows Graduate Students Undergraduate Students

Such an honor to get to work with this incredible group of humans. gereaulab.wustl.edu/people-page/

Threats to science abound. It's been hard for everyone - but the energy in the lab today is incredible. Scientists brainstorming projects, pouring over exciting new data, companies vying to acquire licensing rights to patents we have for potential new #chronicpain treatments. So inspired by our team

🚨 SAVE THE DATE! 🚨
2nd edition of the St. Louis Translational Pain Research Forum!
a joint effort between SLU, WashU and UHSP

🗓 Sept 26-27, 2025
🎤 Keynote: Dr. Cheryl Stucky
💡 Plenary: Dr. Patrick Dougherty
Register now ->🔗 stl-tprf2023.my.canva.site/stl-tprf2025

#PainResearch #Neuroskyience

FDA Approves Novel Non-Opioid Treatment for Moderate to Severe Acute Pain The FDA approved Journavx (suzetrigine) 50 mg oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults.

A big day for pain care, and for pain science. www.fda.gov/news-events/...

particularly this figure

one of my favorites!

Resolving native GABAA receptor structures from the human brain - Nature Cryo-electron microscopy structures of native type A GABA receptors from human brain reveal diverse subunit compositions, protein binding partners and binding sites for antiepileptic drugs.

science-ing is amazing these days.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.

I just reached out to my senators about the NIH situation. If you need to find out how much impact NIH has in your state in terms of dollars in and their economic impact here's a link: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...