Hi, I'm a 4th year dental student at Queen's University Belfast.

CLEFT supports research that aims to advance knowledge on the possible causes of clefts and the most effective, and also the kindest, treatment for children born with clefts of lip and palate.

In the developing world, cleft patients are frequently not operated on until later in life, if at all. The consequences of which are often severe. CLEFT supports the development of multi-disciplinary cleft centres in teaching centres in low and middle income countries so that children born with clefts will have all the care they need from birth to maturity and so that future generations of specialists will be able to continue this work.

Today, 1 in 700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and/or palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound, with patients typically requiring up to four operations and ongoing treatment.

There is still so much that is unknown about clefts and why they occur.

I am running the Dublin Marathon on 27th October 2024 to raise funds for this worthwhile cause. Zhi Yin Lim