Cleft and Craniofacial Research

Our medical team is part of Vanderbilt Health. All our providers are faculty members who work to make diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes better for children with cleft and craniofacial differences.

Matthew Pontell, MD leads Pediatric Craniofacial Research and runs the Craniofacial Biology Lab. This lab studies how treatments work in real patients over time. Some of our current studies look at: how families experience care from a multi-disciplinary cleft and craniofacial team, how skull surgery affects brain growth, and how computer programs (machine learning) can help detect speech problems caused by cleft palate (called velopharyngeal insufficiency, or VPI).

Our team presents research at two major meetings: The American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association (ACPA) and the American & International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons. This helps us stay current on the newest treatments so we can give our patients the best care.

Michael Golinko, MD, chief of Plastic Surgery and director of our Cleft and Craniofacial Program, and Christopher Bonfield, MD, our Pediatric Craniofacial neurosurgery director, are leading a study using new imaging tools. This study looks at how craniosynostosis (early skull-bone fusion in babies) affects brain development.

The Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Monroe Carell has a growing research program.

Dr. Pontell is Director of Pediatric Plastic Surgery Research. He also leads the Vanderbilt Tissue Engineering and Cytology (VTEC) Lab, supported by the Department of Plastic Surgery and the Joseph DeLozier Craniofacial Research Fund. This lab studies how to take a child's own bone-forming stem cells and grow them for use in facial reconstruction. The lab also studies how the bones in a baby's skull naturally fuse together. MD/PhD student Anvith Reddy leads the day-to-day lab work behind this research. The program is funded by the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the Plastic Surgery Foundation, and the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

Our division also studies outcomes for children with cleft lip and palate. We have a pending application for a major NIH grant (called an R01) to use artificial intelligence to detect speech problems in children with cleft palate faster and earlier — work that could change how children are screened for this condition worldwide. Dr. Golinko also leads a federally funded, multi-site study on craniosynostosis outcomes, one of several ways our division is a national leader in craniofacial surgery research.

For information about studies currently enrolling patients with craniosynostosis, email ashley.volk@vumc.org.