ULM computer science students win Nexus Louisiana鈥檚 DevDays HealthTech Challenge

Published December 12, 2025

A group of four women smile while holding a large check.

CAPTION:听Champions of the听DevDays听HealthTech Challenge, Yukta Karki,听SianRose听Vincent, and Nirjara KC, pictured with their faculty advisor, Prasanthi听Sreekumari,听awarded $5,000 prize.听

MONROE, La. 鈥撎�The ULM Department of Computer Science is proud to announce that a student team has won the听DevDays听HealthTech Challenge, hosted by Nexus Louisiana in听partnership with Ochsner Health.听Kneva,听the winning team听composed of computer science students听Yukta Karki,听SianRose听Vincent, and Nirjara KC,听was awarded a $5,000 prize听at the competition in Baton Rouge on听November 14.听听

The听DevDaysChallenge听attracted听160听students听from 11 Louisiana universities who听submitted听45 innovative solutions, addressing issues ranging from athlete safety to carbon management.听听

Kneva is an innovative health technology platform focused on addressing a long-overlooked crisis in sports medicine: female athletes face up to eight times greater risk of experiencing a catastrophic ACL injury. This groundbreaking project aims to end the era of compromise in women鈥檚 sports by delivering technology and insights that support safer performance and long-term athletic health.听听

The system unifies two critical data points, hormonal听fluctuations听and biomechanical movement, to predict elevated injury risk and deliver real-time, micro-adjusted training feedback. A wearable knee sensor听monitors听movement patterns, while the platform maps an athlete鈥檚 menstrual cycle to听identify听when they are more susceptible to injury, creating a personalized, adaptive approach to performance and injury prevention.听

Team听Kneva听shared that the competition affirmed their mission to build injury-prevention tools that truly reflect the physiology and experiences of female athletes鈥攏ot systems retrofitted from male data.听听听

鈥淚 was raised in a world shaped by strong women, and听Kneva听lets me pour that energy into a platform that finally acknowledges and supports female athletes,鈥� said KC. 鈥淟eading the research and development for our ACL prevention prototype proved that innovation is iterative, and this win fuels our next chapter.听We鈥檙e听excited to take on the engineering challenges needed to move from concept to a production-ready solution.鈥�听

The six-week competition brought together student teams from across the state to confront a real and pressing sports medicine issue. 鈥淒evDays听is about putting our state鈥檚 brightest minds on our state's hardest problems,鈥� said Tony Zanders, President and CEO of Nexus Louisiana. 鈥淭he quality of ideas we saw reflects the strength of the talent emerging from Louisiana鈥檚 universities and the value of connecting that talent to real industry needs.鈥�听

As the presenting partner, Ochsner Health emphasized the importance of strengthening pathways between students and industry. 鈥淒evDays听shows what happens when we give young people real problems to solve and the room to innovate boldly. These students听aren鈥檛听just imagining the future of sports medicine 鈥斕齮hey鈥檙e听building it.听I鈥檓听proud that Ochsner is helping open doors, strengthen pathways, and champion the next generation of Louisiana talent,鈥� said Christy Reeves, Vice President, Network Development and Government Relations at Ochsner Health.听

鈥淲e are extremely proud of all the students who听participated听in the competition. Their dedication, passion, and perseverance听showcase听the strength and spirit of our department,鈥� said Dr. Prasanthi听Sreekumari, Program Chair of the ULM Computer Science Department and Associate Professor of Computer Science.听听

鈥淜neva鈥檚听victory is a powerful validation of their mission and the impact their work can have on the future of sports medicine,鈥� added听Sreekumari.听

鈥淭he team would like to thank Dr.听Sreekumari听for her guidance听throughout听the development of听Kneva. We also extend our thanks to Dr. Paul Wiedemeier and Dr. Paul Rojas for providing the resources and support we needed to bring this project to life,鈥� said KC.听听

Team Kneva鈥檚听win听marks the second victory for a ULM Computer Science team at听DevDays听this year. Carbon Horizon听won the Nexus听DevDays听ClimateTech听Challenge in October听2025. Read more about their win at听/news/2025/comp_science_devdays_111125.html听

About Nexus Louisiana听DevDays听

Nexus Louisiana鈥檚 mission is to accelerate the growth of high-potential technology-enabled companies by providing them with coaching, capital, and connections. Their programs听leverage听regional collaboration to foster mentorship, investment, and opportunity for local entrepreneurs to grow their ideas and transform the technology industry in Louisiana.听

DevDays听are one-of-a-kind events that fuse technology, competition, and Louisiana鈥檚 legendary football pride.听Over six weeks, participants tackle real-world challenges from leading industries and bring听their听solutions听to life in an impactful, one-day demo event in Baton Rouge.听

Nexus Louisiana has confirmed that听DevDays听will return next year with new challenges and expanded collaboration opportunities.听听

For more information, please visit听.听