Alex Araki Receives Fellowship to Build Chronic Pain Diagnostic Test

Araki, who has managed his own experience with chronic pain while building a career in drug discovery, plans to spend the next 12 months creating a non-invasive, low-cost test. His methodology moves away from the trial-and-error clinical standard by treating pain with the same diagnostic precision used to identify blood types. The project builds on his previous work at Gordian Biotechnology and Renaissance Philanthropy, shifting his focus from aging-related diseases to the underlying biology of pain.

Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder of the investment firm OSV, cited Araki’s combination of scientific rigor and personal motivation as the primary driver for the grant. The O'Shaughnessy Fellowships program, which provides up to $100,000 in funding, selected Araki as its tenth recipient for 2026. If successful, the research could provide a scalable solution to a condition that affects hundreds of millions globally, effectively moving pain management out of the realm of guesswork.