Discovery Through Collaboration

Through collaboration and dedication, the research team in Cincinnati Children’s Division of Plastic Surgery has been pioneering groundbreaking discoveries in the genetic causes and developmental mechanisms of craniofacial birth abnormalities for decades.

Our team works with developmental biologists, geneticists, surgeons, research nurses and bioinformatics specialists across various divisions—including Developmental Biology, Dermatology, Otolaryngology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery and Biomedical Informatics—to inform patient care. We work to determine the causes and pathogenic mechanisms, as well as to develop new methods of treatment, for a wide range of congenital conditions such as cleft lip with and without cleft palate, craniosynostosis, frontonasal dysplasia and micrognathia.

As a national and international referral site, our researchers and clinicians work with a broad population of patients. This unique access allows us to study the rarest conditions and the most complex clinical cases.

Our Research

Using a combination of basic science, translational and clinical research, we’re able to quickly and efficiently bring our breakthrough findings from the lab to the clinic and operating room, where our surgical colleagues put them into practice.

Basic Science and Translational Research

Understanding the genetic and developmental mechanisms of congenital craniofacial disorders is the main focus of our basic science and translational work.

Using a systems biology approach, we conduct basic science research and pre-clinical studies to delineate the gene regulatory networks controlling craniofacial morphogenesis. We then use our findings to develop improved strategies for diagnosing, treating and eventually preventing craniofacial birth defects.

Learn about recent developments in our faculty labs.

Clinical Studies

On a broader scale, our clinical research examines surgical outcomes of various plastic surgery procedures to implement quality improvements and enhanced care.

Collaborating with surgical teams in Neurosurgery, Dermatology, Otolaryngology and Orthopaedics allows us to develop and study unique approaches for a variety of conditions. Our work with brachial plexus birth palsy, cleft lip and palate, epidermolysis bullosa, mandibular distraction and nasal dermoids with intracranial extensions has led to the advancement of less invasive procedures with better outcomes and less recovery time for patients.

By the Numbers

Our Impact

As pioneers in the field of plastic surgery research, our work has led to unprecedented advances in the understanding of craniofacial disorders and the discovery of novel approaches for reconstruction and clinical care.

Our findings allow for more accurate interpretation of clinical genetics data and improved patient and family counseling. For example, our ongoing collaborative study of SIX2-related frontonasal dysplasia has revealed the cause of frontonasal defects in this syndrome is not haploinsufficiency of SIX2, but rather due to genomic deletion-induced misregulation of a neighboring gene. This finding suggests that other diseases associated with small genomic deletions could be misdiagnosed and/or misinterpreted, leading to additional research to further uncover genomic and developmental mechanisms for other conditions.

Furthermore, our findings inform patient care across divisions, often leading to less invasive surgical methods to manage a wide variety of conditions with fewer complications and faster recovery times.

Read more about our most recent published findings and studies.