Celebrating The Cleft Collective

November 23, 2022

Just a few months after we celebrated the Cleft Collective’s 10-year Anniversary, we are absolutely thrilled to report that the 10,000^th participant – five-year old Elsie – has been recruited to the study, the world's largest research programme in cleft lip and palate.

To celebrate this achievement, we have made a special episode of The Scar Free Foundation Podcast featuring Dr Yvonne Wren (pictured above), Chief Investigator of the Cleft Collective about the incredible research that she and the team are doing at the University of Bristol.

The questions that drive the work of the Cleft Collective are:

· What has caused my child’s cleft?

· What are the best treatments for my child?

· Will my child be OK (both now and in the longer term)?

The milestone of recruiting the 10,000^th participant will allow the Cleft Collective, and researchers from around the world, to mine the genetic, clinical, and self-reported data the study contains to answer pertinent research questions.

The Cleft Collective is not only a significant resource for UK researchers but is also available free for any academic or clinical academic to apply to use.

"The work the Scar Free Foundation and the Cleft Collective are doing will change the way that the world sees and understands Cleft. I hope as many families as possible come forward to take part in the study – to try and find answers to our questions and ensure better outcomes in the future. I feel as a parent, helping with research and being a part of the Foundation is a way of giving something back to the cleft community".

Rachel McDermott, Scar Free Ambassador, member of the Research Council and a mother of a child born with a cleft

To find out more about the ground-breaking work of the Cleft Collective click on the link below.

Listen to the Podcast