Research Program

Through Operation Smile’s Research Council, doctors and researchers are collaborating globally to improve the future for children born with facial deformities. The Operation Smile Institutional Review Board (IRB), following stipulations of the federal government, reviews and fund selected research projects. The Board works in conjunction with the Research Council that is focused on the prevention and treatment of birth defects through education, nutrition, pre-natal care, new medicines and new equipment. During the World Journey of Smiles, Operation Smile conducted a research project:

DNA samples collected from 3,014 patients in 11 countries;
To be analyzed and screened with the hope of identifying the genetic markers that differentiate people with cleft lips or cleft palates.