Hacking Pain: Transforming Ideas into Action at the 2025 PainConnect Annual Meeting
This year’s inaugural Hacking Pain Hackathon, hosted during the AAPM 2025 PainConnect Annual Meeting, was nothing short of transformative. Over an intense 48-hour period, students, engineers, clinicians, and young innovators came together to design real-world, patient-centered solutions to the most pressing challenges in pain care. What made this hackathon especially powerful was the deep integration of lived experience—participants listened directly to patients, reshaping their understanding of chronic pain and the barriers patients face every day. As one participant shared, “I learned more in 48 hours than I did all semester.”
Thanks to the leadership of David Jevotovsky, MD, MBA; Brian Mayrsohn, MD, MS; and Salman Hirani, MD, and the meticulous planning by Sharon Kneebone, IOM, FASAE, CAE, Hacking Pain became a reality, embedded within the dynamic energy of PainConnect.
Celebrating the Winners
While every team made an impact, we are proud to recognize the outstanding innovation of our winning teams:
1st Place: P.L.A.C.E. A passive learning and adaptive chronic pain environment designed to identify the causes of flare-ups and intervene early to prevent them. Team Members: Jahnavi Thakur, Saisha Khurana, Sarina P. Shah, Swyam Dubey, Kate Benson
People’s Choice Award: PainPal, A crowdsourced task support app connecting chronic pain patients with help for daily chores, freeing up time for restorative activities. Team Members: Natalie Rodgers, Vignesh Vasan, Aethyr Villela, Sara Gehrig, ThD
2nd Place: Endura, A personalized pain support tool designed to track hormonal shifts and deliver interventions for women-specific pain fluctuations. Team Members: Anusha Solai, Kristen Cobio, Rhea Lazar, Devika Sunil, Anisha Bhattaru, Ama Abeynayake, Janet Fox
These outstanding teams didn’t just innovate — they listened, they collaborated, and they centered the patient experience in every solution.
Deep Gratitude to Our Mentors and Sponsors
We extend heartfelt thanks to our mentors—Martha Lawrence, Adam Seidner, MD, MPH, Jamie Wood, Junghwan Kim, Amitabh Gulati, Steven Stanos, DO, Yehuda Kogan, Shriya Srinivasan, Kelley Roberts, and Jessica Wansart—who provided invaluable guidance, expertise, and encouragement to every team.
We also thank our sponsors, OxiWear, EnableHealth LLC, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, whose support made this event possible. Special appreciation to Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, and to Ali, Maarten, and Keegan for their outstanding coordination and hospitality in Austin.
Hacking Pain wasn’t just a competition—it was a transformation. Participants didn’t just brainstorm solutions; they analyzed the field of pain medicine, internalized real patient stories, and built patient-centered innovations designed to create real change.
From the excitement of meeting leaders like Dr. Charles Argoff, to the energy pulsing through the final project presentations, every moment captured the spirit of hope, collaboration, and action that defines AAPM’s mission to improve pain care. We are beyond proud of everyone who contributed to making this groundbreaking event a success. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for pain care.
