Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects affecting 1 in 700 newborns. In most cases, these clefts are not associated with other health problems and for this reason patients can have a normal life. However, treatment of these defects involves high costs and complicated surgery in order to re-establish normal esthetics and function. Multiple genetic and environmental factors contribute to increased risk of clefting. Although some of the genes that produce clefts were studied previously, there is no clear explanation of how they interfere in normal face formation. The goal of my research is to identify the risk factors and to explain the molecular mechanisms that lead to abnormal development in the face. In my investigation I will be using the chicken embryo because it is a suitable model where we have direct access to the growing face. Previously, novel methods to induce unilateral clefts were developed in our lab, while allowing the other side to continue normal development. I will produce and inject a specific virus that generates a cleft and then I will investigate how face changes during growing. Thus, by comparing normal and abnormal development of the face we can assess the risk factors that produce the cleft. Furthermore, I will develop innovative methods to make real-time movies by marking facial cells with fluorescent dye during face formation. My research will clarify how fine tuning of cell signaling during embryogenesis may shape facial development and increase the risk of forming clefts and other birth defects.