Uniting Innovators to Transform Pain Management
Why You Should Join
- Collaborate with Purpose: Form teams that blend diverse skills and perspectives to solve complex healthcare problems.
- Mentorship That Matters: Work alongside experienced clinicians, entrepreneurs, and tech leaders who will help sharpen your ideas.
- Innovate With Impact: Create realistic, scalable solutions to some of the most pressing issues in pain management today.
Our Mission, Shared With You
- Enhance Patient Lives: Drive the development of next-gen tools that improve daily living for people in pain.
- Spark Meaningful Innovation: Combine compassion and creativity to push healthcare forward.
- Build Your Network: Forge connections with pioneers and changemakers across industries.
Be the change healthcare needs. Join the hack-a-thon that’s transforming pain care from the inside out.
What is Hacking Pain?
Hacking Pain is more than a hack-a-thon; it’s a global innovation engine powered by you. Supported by PainConnect and the Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah Health, it’s your launchpad to develop, test, and pitch your most impactful ideas in pain management.
What You'll Do:
- Submit an idea that addresses a challenge in pain care.
- Collaborate across disciplines to build viable solutions.
- Present your work to real-world stakeholders, including patients and healthcare leaders.
The Innovation Payoff
The top team will earn top visibility, with a featured presentation at PainConnect’s Innovation Challenge, plus access to a powerful network of investors, providers, and peers.
Hack-a-Thon Registration Now Open
Hack-A-Thon Registration Deadline is February 11, 2026
2026 Focus: Tracking Outcomes in Chronic Pain Care
How Do We Meet Patients Where They Are?
People living with chronic pain are often denied essential treatments when insurers label care as “experimental.” To overcome this, we need scalable, affordable outcome-tracking tools that truly capture the impact of pain interventions and preserve patient access to care.
Who Should Apply?
If you want to create change, this is your call to action. Ideal candidates include:
- University Students & Researchers
- Clinicians & Therapists
- Engineers, Developers & Designers
- Entrepreneurs & Product Managers
- Patient Advocates
Whether you’re bringing a bold idea or just your passion to solve problems—Hacking Pain is for you.
Hack-a-thon Event Timeline: March 4–7, 2026
Wednesday, March 4
- 4:00 PM: Kickoff & Team Formation
- Concept Introduction
Thursday, March 5
- Team Ideation & Strategy
- Mentor & Expert Consultations
Friday, March 6
- 2:00-4:00pm: Final Presentations
- Evening Networking Reception
Saturday, March 7
- Chosen Finalists Present at PainConnect Innovation Challenge
Whether you’re bringing a bold idea or just your passion to solve problems—Hacking Pain is for you.
2026 Hacking Pain Hack-a-Thon Judges
- Salman Hirani, MD: Director of Innovation, American Academy of Pain Medicine
- Brian Mayrsohn, MD, MS: CEO, Maywell Health
- Janani Ramesh, MEd: Director, Project Prana Foundation
- Eric Friedman: HealthTech Expert & Entrepeneur
- Sean Day: Venture Principal, Rock Health
- Adam Seidner, MD, MPH: Chief Medical Officer at the Hartford
- Martha Lawrence, MBA: CEO and Co-Founder at AccendoWave
- Nicole Hemmenway: CEO at U.S. Pain Foundation
- Jason Spinney: Global Diector of Talent, BiteLabs Digital Health
- Vanessa McLaughlin, MPH: CEO and Co-Founder at Welcome Home Health
- Alex Walberg, MBA: General Manager at SPARC Health
- Amy Cizik, PhD, MPH: Director, Patient Reported Outcomes at University of Utah Health
- Justin Brunson: Center for Medical Innovation - University of Utah
We’re building a diverse advisory ecosystem to support our hackers. If your expertise fits any of these areas, we want to hear from you:
Calling All Mentors & Speakers
- Patient Experience Advocates
- Social Workers: chronic pain, SDOH, medication access
- Rehab Experts: PTs, OTs, massage, acupuncture
- Physicians: pain management specialists
- Healthcare Founders & Operators
- Investors & Innovation Scouts
- Accessibility & UX Professionals
- Insurance/Payer Strategists
Mentorship can change the course of an idea—and a life.
This is more than an event
It’s a healthcare revolution
Let’s reimagine pain care together.
2026 Sponsors & Partners
