Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs), abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain, can rupture and cause hemorrhagic stroke, yet treatment options remain highly morbid with high-risk for mortality. Depending on the size and location of the malformation, patients may face high-risk surgery, radiation, embolization, or watchful waiting, and many lesions cannot be treated safely at all.
NuVasc, a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) MedTech startup, was founded by Zac Yezzi, a survivor of a 2021 ruptured bAVM and aneurysm that required multiple cranial surgeries and long rehabilitation for recovery. The company was built in partnership with Andrew T. Hale, M.D., Ph.D., neurosurgery resident and scientist at UAB, whose research forms the scientific foundation of NuVasc’s approach.
At UAB, and in collaboration with neurosurgeon-scientist Kristopher T. Kahle, M.D., Ph.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Hale developed a liquid biopsy approach that detects the genetic mutations driving bAVMs, sampling DNA during the same minimally invasive procedures already used to diagnose and potentially treat these lesions. The work resulted in a patent filed by Hale with UAB and MGH, which has been exclusively licensed to NuVasc. 
Roughly three-quarters of sporadic bAVMs are driven by activating mutations in KRAS or BRAF, genetic alterations that have already become important targets for drug development in cancer.
“A genetic diagnosis is what unlocks targeted treatment, and for brain AVMs, detecting that driver mutation during a routine endovascular procedure has not been possible until now,” said Hale. “This test identifies the mutation driving an individual brain AVM, which opens a path toward therapies that could lower the risk of a catastrophic rupture. For a disease with high unmet need and no targeted options today, that is a fundamental change in what is possible.”
The idea for the company was inspired by Yezzi’s own experience. Following his recovery, he became focused on supporting research that could help prevent other patients and families from facing similar experiences. Through The Bee Foundation for Brain Aneurysm Prevention, he provided a research grant to Hale to support work on this novel approach. As the two collaborated, Yezzi saw the potential to move the technology beyond the laboratory and into clinical use, leading to the creation of NuVasc.
“We’re advancing precision medicine for brain arteriovenous malformations,” Yezzi said. “We’re connecting molecular diagnosis directly to targeted therapy, so treatment can be biologically driven instead of relying on invasive intervention alone. As a brain AVM hemorrhage survivor, this is exactly the innovative solution I wish was available to me.”
The company is currently in an early translational stage, working alongside its academic partners at UAB and MGH to validate the diagnostic and advance it toward clinical use.
Looking ahead, NuVasc hopes to help bring precision medicine to a field that has historically had few targeted treatment options. By applying advances in molecular diagnostics and genetics to cerebrovascular disease, the company aims to create a future where treatment is tailored to the biology of each patient’s condition.
To learn more about NuVasc, contact the team at
-- July 13, 2026