Scientific Research
Seeking the cause, and the end
While our volunteers work tirelessly to correct children’s facial deformities, Operation Smile also works for a better understanding about the occurrence of clefts, in hopes of reducing the incidence of cleft lips and cleft palates altogether.
Through our Research Department, doctors and researchers are collaborating globally to improve the future for children born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. The Research Department works in collaboration with Universities and Research Institutions, always following the principles of modern research ethics. Every research project is approved by a local ethics committee (Institutional Review Board). Based on current knowledge, several recommendations to lower the incidence of oral clefts have been proposed, but more research is needed to be more effective in this endeavor.
The International Family Study
The International Family Study, a collaborative research project examining genetic characteristics of clefts, was piloted in Arequipa, Peru, during the July 2009 medical mission.
DNA samples and epidemiological data were collected from 124 patients and their parents. Collection continued at three sites during Vietnam’s 20th Anniversary missions in November of the same year, where 531 Oragene kits and 754 swabs were collected from patients and their parents.
Operation Smile’s Research Department is in the process of applying for Grants in order to continue collecting and processing genetic material from Operation Smile missions. This is currently being done with the purpose of enhancing knowledge of gene-environment interactions and how they influence the incidence of clefting in different populations.
From the Research Department
The basics on cleft lips and cleft palates.
