Speakers

Daniela Tanikawa, São Paolo, Brazil

Daniela Tanikawa, MD, PhD, is a plastic surgeon and Coordinator of the Cleft Lip and Palate Program at Sabará Children’s Hospital and a researcher at the PENSI Institute, São Paulo, Brazil. She has extensive clinical experience in cleft lip and palate surgery, with particular interests in primary cleft lip and nose repair, presurgical infant orthopedics, and treatment outcomes. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications in cleft surgery and is actively involved in international collaborative research. Dr. Tanikawa serves as a member of the Latin American Medical Advisory Council of Smile Train.

David Chong, Melbourne, Australia

David Chong is a craniofacial and cleft surgeon and Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. He practices at the Royal Children’s Hospital and is internationally recognised for his work in cleft lip and nasal reconstruction. He is a frequent invited speaker and has contributed to cleft care and education across numerous international centres. He has been actively involved in international collaborations through organisations including Operation Smile and Mercy Ships, reflecting an ongoing commitment to global health equity. He is a former President of the Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association.

Raymond Tse, Seattle, USA

Raymond Tse is a plastic surgeon at the Seattle Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Center and a Professor at the University of Washington. With a focus on treating children with clefts, he performs the majority of surgical care at one of North America’s largest interdisciplinary centers. His research focuses on clinical aspects of cleft care and includes collaboration with Computer Science and Engineering in assessing 3D morphology of clefts. Those lines of investigation have led to recognition by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (James Barrett Brown award for best plastic surgery related paper of the year) and by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (best pediatric/craniofacial paper for 2020, 2022, 2024). He is a Co-Investigator in the VPI-OPS study, an NIH U01 project, that includes 12 North American centers and examines speech, sleep (OSA), and MRI imaging as they relate to surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency associated with cleft palate. He has provided Invited Discussion for such journals as New England Journal of Medicine and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. His ultimate goal is to improve the care that we provide for kids with clefts at home and abroad. 

Karl Jacobs, Amterdam, the Netherlands

Karl Jacobs is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction at ACTA (Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam). He also serves as an anatomy lecturer for the surgical residency training program at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He holds a BSc in Physical Therapy and an MSc in Functional and Clinical Anatomy from the University of Birmingham. Jacobs specializes in the use of histological reconstructions, micro-CT imaging, microangiography, for the three-dimensional visualization and analysis of embryonic and fetal development. He collaborates closely with academic and clinical partners, including Amsterdam UMC and the Dutch Fetal Biobank, and is involved in the development of innovative imaging infrastructures for embryological research. In addition to his scientific work, Jacobs is actively involved in education and interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging basic anatomical sciences with clinical and translational research in craniofacial medicine.

Peter Don Griot, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Peter Don Griot is a pediatric plastic surgeon at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht. He serves as head of the Department of Pediatric Plastic Surgery and is the clinical lead of the Cleft Lip and Palate Team. His research focuses on aesthetic outcomes in cleft lip, Robin sequence, velopharyngeal insufficiency, and patient-centered care. He is actively involved in several national research collaborations and is the clinical project lead of the Dutch Cleft Registry. He is a former president of the Dutch Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Society and currently serves as vice president of the Bridge the Gap Foundation, a long-term initiative aimed at establishing a national cleft lip and palate center in Vientiane, Laos.

Corstiaan Breugem, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Prof. Corstiaan Breugem, MD, PhD, is professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Amsterdam University Medical Center and honorary professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His research focuses include comprehensive cleft care, Robin sequence, velopharyngeal insufficiency, craniofacial embryology, surgical education, and global surgery, and he has authored more than 220 peer reviewed publications. He is actively involved in international collaborative care. He was the initiator of the International Cleft Palate Dissection Course organized in Utrecht in 2011, and has organized numerous courses since. He initiated the first international Robin Sequence Consensus Meeting held in the Netherlands, contributing to international collaboration and standardization of care for Robin sequence. Prof. Breugem is former president of the European Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association and of the Dutch Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Association. Currently, he is president of Interplast Holland, where he promotes sustainable surgical education and global cleft care initiatives in low-resource settings. He is also president of the International Society of Auricular Reconstruction.