Ambika Chadha

I am honoured to be the nominated 2022 Training Interface Group (TIG) fellow in Cleft Lip & Palate and am based in the Cleft.Net.East service in Addenbrookes hospital, Cambridge.

My passion for cleft has always spanned both clinical and research domains. I am currently writing up my PhD in the applications of 3D surface imaging in cleft – work that has been supported by both Surgical and Dental Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) Research Fellowships. I was also awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Travel fellowship to spend several months in the 3D Facial Research Imaging Group based in Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

I am especially interested in the use of 3D and 4D imaging to deep phenotype cleft lip and the application of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (X-AI) to enhance cleft care. Additionally, I believe that Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies are poised to play an important role in disseminating clinical knowledge in cleft globally.

I wholly support the CLEFT charity’s research ethos and applaud the important role it plays in supporting high quality research in cleft, in collaboration with other national organisations.

Latest

Rona, Richard, Jon and Simon ride 100 miles

Join us in raising funds for the CLEFT: Bridging the Gap! CLEFT has 2 great aims: to support sustainable and multidisciplinary cleft care in lower and middle income countries (surgery is important but only part of the journey), and to support research into the causes and provision of cleft care in the UK.
Zhi's Dublin Marathon Fundraiser

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
Nick and Kathleen's Wedding Fundraiser

We are raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
The difference a Comprehensive Cleft and Craniofacial Centre can make

During his visit to Dhaka earlier this year, Mr Brian Sommerlad (Chair of CLEFT and Consultant Plastic Surgeon) saw a number of familiar faces in the clinic. Shahriah and Khadjiatul are two patients requiring a large number of operations and complex treatments throughout their lifetime.

Hannah Lane

I am a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist working with children born with cleft and craniofacial conditions in Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, linking with the Nottingham Trent Cleft team.
Jenny Cropper

I am a Clinical Psychologist working in the Spires Cleft Centre, across the Oxford and Salisbury sites.
Julie Davies

Senior Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Gillian McCarthy

I represent CLAPA, the Cleft Lip and Palate Association.
Fiona Gilchrist

Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry
Stephanie van Eeden

Stephanie van Eeden, Lead Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (SLT), Regional Cleft Lip and Palate Service and NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellow (2018-2023)
Yvonne Wren

I am Associate Professor of Speech and Communication at the University of Bristol and also Chief Investigator of the Cleft Collective, a national cohort study which is investigating the causes, treatments and outcomes for people born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Helen Robson

Clinical Nurse Specialist
Sophie Butterworth, Junior Cleft Fellow

I qualified as a doctor in 2007 and have been working part-time with the cleft lip and palate team in Newcastle since 2009, with a few breaks for my three children.
Rona Slator, Chair of the Research Steering Committee

Retired, and living in the North Yorkshire countryside. Former Consultant Plastic and Cleft Surgeon at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the West Midlands Cleft Lip and Palate Centre.

Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

We are working with Bangladeshi specialists at the new Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to create a sustainable centre to treat children with cleft lip and palate.
Nawrin and the C-Arm

This important piece of equipment was supplied by CLEFT and is used to see moving images of the cleft palate. Nawrin is a 13 year old girl who was experiencing speech difficulties and needed the C-Arm to show the cleft team if further surgery was required.
Our mission

CLEFT was established in 2007 with one aim, to help improve the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate, either by funding research into the likely causes of the condition or by helping support teams in lower and middle income countries.
Donate

You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future. 100% of your donation today will go towards funding an international or research project thanks to a charitable trust covering all our administrative costs until February 2025.
About us

CLEFT was established in 2007 by cleft surgeon Brian Sommerlad - based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, together with a former patient and a patient's grandmother.
The genetics of cleft lip and palate

Investigations into the genetics of cleft lip and palate to understand more about why cleft lip and palate occurs.
Brian Sommerlad, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Chair of Trustees

For over 40 years, I have been involved in operating on babies, children and adults who have been born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Our research vision

At CLEFT, our vision is of a future where clefts are preventable. Until we get there, we want to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate.
Trusts and Foundations

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.
Our philosophy

The two arms of CLEFT are brought together by our mission to bridge the gap in cleft care and knowledge both in the UK and around the world. Our international and research philosophies are at the very heart of our work.