Trainee Section

The Trainee Section was created in 2022 to unite trainees of all disciplines who are passionate about improving global cleft care. The trainees across the United Kingdom provide a valuable network of facilitating and promoting regional audit and education on sustainable global surgery, as well as developing CLEFT’s presence at regional events. The Trainee Section also provides a forum for trainees to discuss global cleft surgery with opportunities to feed into CLEFT’s wider international steering groups.

You can find out who are Trainees are in our Team section - or by clicking here.

Cleft Lip and Palate Educational Mini-Series

We are excited to announce the launch of the CLEFT Trainee Section Educational Mini-Series, a trainee-led project designed to enhance learning in cleft surgery. Read more

Insights from the 74th EDSA General Meeting

At the 74th European Dental Students' Association General Meeting in Strasbourg, I had the privilege of discussing the importance of multidisciplinary cleft care and CLEFT’s global initiatives. The enthusiastic response from dental students across Europe underscored their dedication to raising awareness, fostering collaboration, and supporting vital causes like cleft care through campaigns such as 'Miles for Smiles.' Read more

Trainee Section Hosts Inaugural MDT Outreach Event

CLEFT’s Trainee Section hosted its first outreach event at The Abbey School, engaging over 200 attendees in workshops and discussions on teamwork and multidisciplinary cleft care. The evening raised awareness, funds, and support for CLEFT’s mission to promote sustainable global healthcare. Read more

A Dynamic Speech and Language Therapy Workshop

In June 2024, Marie Pinkstone (CLEFT Trustee) and Izzy Snape, one of our Trainee section members, introduced CLEFT to Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) students at University College London. Their presentation coincided with the North Thames Cleft Service's lectures at Great Ormond Street Hospital and aimed to showcase CLEFT's history, ethos, and opportunities for involvement. Read more

Trainee Presentations at the 2024 CFSGBI Conference

The annual conference held by the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2024 took place in Manchester this April. The conference is always a fantastic opportunity for new and experienced clinicians to meet and share information on a wide variety of subjects. CLEFT was very proud to see three members of the Trainee Section deliver presentations, and one member contributed to an academic poster. Read more

Trainee Video Series Highlights CLEFT Expertise

Shonnelly Novintan has created some insightful videos by collaborating with clinicians from the CLEFT Trustee board and steering committees. The videos look at why they pursued their chosen career paths, what their motivation was for joining the CLEFT charity and what advice they would give trainee surgeons thinking about pursuing a career in cleft care. Read more

Roadmap to joining the Trainee Section

Izzy joined the Trainee Section at the end of 2023 and has been an important and valued member of the group since then, working to raise awareness of Speech and Language Therapy amongst young cleft professionals. Izzy's path to joining the Trainee Section took a few steps over a few weeks and was an important journey for both Izzy and Shonnelly (Trainee Section Chair) to take together. Read more

Dorney Duathlon 2024 Success

Will and Shonnelly, the Chairs of the CLEFT Trainee Section, conquered the Dorney Duathlon and raised an amazing £1223. Read more

Shonnelly, Chair of the Trainee Section

Shonnelly Novintan is Chair of the Trainee Section and is one of the founding members of this group. The Trainee Section has quietly and carefully found its place within the charity and we are exceptionally proud of the group's enthusiasm and commitment. Shonnelly has some exciting plans for the year ahead so watch this space! Read more

Trainee Section: Current Projects

Find out what our Trainee Section is up to and the projects they are involved with. Read more

Latest

Javid's 10k Fundraising Run

My son Elvin was born with a cleft lip in 2024. But thanks to the NHS, we got world class care and the result was unrecognisable. Sometimes we remember the fact that he used to have a cleft and we miss his huge carefree cleft smile. But unfortunately not every child has access to the same professional support. It is Elvin's 2nd birthday this week, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to run 10k fundraising for CLEFT - to help other children across the world, bridging the gap.
LF1 Cleft Charity

We are raising money with the LF1 division of the Cleft Charity at Charles University, Prague, to support sustainable, long-term improvements in cleft care. Through fundraising and awareness initiatives at LF1, we aim to contribute to the main UK Cleft Charity’s mission of improving access to cleft treatment, multidisciplinary care, and support services for patients and families both in the UK and internationally.
London Marathon 2027

1.33 million people applied for the London Marathon 2027. For the first time ever CLEFT has a guaranteed place. We are looking for someone incredible to run the London Marathon for CLEFT. Could that person be you?
Sarah’s 10K for Cleft UK

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.

Donate to CLEFT

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.
National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

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