Jacques E. Zaneveld, Ph.D. ’15, and Smriti A. Agrawal, Ph.D. ’18, began their careers as Ph.D. students in the laboratory of Rui Chen, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics and the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine, where they studied the genetics of congenital eye defects. Dr. Zaneveld focused on discovering likely genetic causes of disease through bioinformatic analysis of human genome sequencing data. At the same time, Dr. Agrawal used CRISPR technology to introduce candidate mutations into mice to study their effects and developed retroviral gene therapies that treated these genetic diseases in mice. Their collective work has resulted in 26 peer-reviewed scientific articles with over 2,000 citations.
Concurrent with their Ph.D. work, Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld became deeply interested in pre-surgical planning. They brainstormed with Baylor physicians, who perform some of the most complex surgeries in the world. Despite the availability of imaging technologies such as MRIs and CTs, these clinicians lacked a way to physically simulate different surgical approaches or test their plans before performing actual operations. Just like practicing a piece of music, Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld hypothesized that surgical rehearsals had the potential to improve outcomes and reduce risk.
They spent nights and weekends obsessing over a new concept – 3D printing exact copies of patients in lifelike materials so surgeons could practice complex surgeries ahead of time. After developing the first prototype of Preoperative Surgical Rehearsal (Pre-Sure) technology, they collaborated with Richard Link, M.D., Ph.D., the Carlton-Smith Endowed Chair in Urologic Education and professor in the Department of Urology at Baylor, to complete their first clinical trial of Pre-Sure technology. This work was published in 2017!
Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld then founded Lazarus 3D, a startup company with the mission of enabling surgical perfection through Pre-Sure, which they pursued full-time following Dr. Agrawal’s graduation in 2018. In March 2020, Lazarus 3D’s team of three faced a different problem: the Texas Medical Center’s (TMC) immense need for personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect healthcare providers from COVID-19. As recent graduates, Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from their friends and family, putting their futures on the line, and used their 3D printing and business acumen to provide over 200,000 face shields and over 1.5 million masks to Baylor, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (BSLMC) and the TMC. They provided high-quality PPE faster and cheaper than standard suppliers. According to published research from BCM, the use of Lazarus 3D’s face shields reduced COVID-19 positive test rates for healthcare providers at Baylor and BSLMC from 22.9% to 2.7% within one week of adoption, demonstrating how their rapid action prevented infections and saved lives.
As the COVID crisis wound down, Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld re-focused their efforts on their surgical rehearsal technology. In 2021, Pre-Sure received FDA clearance as a diagnostic medical device, making it the first and only FDA-cleared medical device that allows physicians to physically rehearse upcoming soft-tissue surgeries. Pre-Sure models cut and bleed, contain both soft and hard tissues and include realistic tissue planes that recapitulate the feel of real tissue. Pre-Sure technology has been used in the care of patients at Texas Children’s Hospital, BSLMC, the Cleveland Clinic, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Samaritan Health System and many other leading institutes. In 2022, Lazarus 3D received its first equity investment of $9 million, which is being used to launch Pre-Sure across the country. Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Zaneveld have shared a deep connection to Baylor throughout their journey, and they are honored to continue supporting Baylor’s lifesaving mission in the coming years.
